Bad Moon Rising
by mandy58
Summary: Lady Luck seems to have skipped out the DPD. Is it just bad karma, or is something more sinister going on?
1. Chapter 1

_Note: this is the follow up story to "False Flag" that I wrote last fall before the epic story that was " Collide" took all my time. It has been floating around in my mind since then, so I finally decided to write it. You don't necessarily have to read False Flag to enjoy this story, but some things might make more sense if you do. _

_Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of Covert Affairs; I'm simply borrowing them for this story_.

* * *

><p>Auggie removed the flash drive from the USB port of his computer and put it back in. He typed something on his keyboard. He didn't know if he should be irritated, disgusted or surprised. Somehow he was none of those things.<p>

"What did you get?" Joan asked anxiously while opening the door to his office.

"Nothing." Auggie leaned back in his chair. "Not a damn thing."

"How can that be? The informant said that we'd be able to use everything on it and more." Joan leaned against his desk. "Do you want me to have Barber try?"

"Knock yourself out." Auggie removed the flash drive from his computer and held it out in his hand in the general direction of his boss. "I'm telling you it's blank."

"Joan, there's a call you need to take." Joan's assistant said while standing in the doorway.

"Thanks Deidre," Joan responded. "We don't need Barber to check on this." Joan closed Auggie's fingers around the flash drive. "We're going to get to the bottom of this. Retrace all of Annie's steps."

* * *

><p>"Well?" Arthur took off his glasses as his wife entered his office. "Anything actionable?"<p>

Joan approached his desk and sat down in a chair across from him. "It happened again."

"You're kidding."

"I wish I was."

Arthur stood up and grabbed a file from the top his file cabinet. "What's that, the third time this month?"

"About that."

"This is getting ridiculous."

* * *

><p>Auggie caught the smell of familiar perfume as the glass doors of the DPD slid open. "Annie, so glad you're back," he said catching her elbow. "Tell me again what happened when you picked up the flash drive."<p>

"The man was at the restaurant, just like we were told. He left it on the table next to the salt and pepper shakers, just like we were told he would. It was uneventful," Annie explained to Auggie as they entered his office.

Auggie scooped the flash drive up from his desk and held it up. "It's empty. You didn't get it near anything that might wipe it out did you?

"Seriously Auggie, you think I'd do that?" Annie was disappointed that he thought she would make that kind of mistake.

"No, I don't." Auggie could sense the hurt in her voice. "I'm just looking for an explanation, that's all."

* * *

><p>"You have got to be kidding me!" Arthur stood up from his chair and looked out the window to the flame colored leaves of Langley, Virginia. "How could they possibly know that we were there?"<p>

"I don't know, they just did," Jai responded. He was sitting in one of the leather chairs across from Arthur's desk. "I thought I was in and suddenly they kicked me out. I don't understand it either."

"Did you do everything by the book?"

"You know I did."

"We've got to get to the bottom of this." Arthur returned to his seat. "This is the forth operation that's been blown in the last month."

* * *

><p>Joan stared into space, half watching C-Span and half day dreaming. She knew that she shouldn't watch the treason trial of the former DCS Henry Wilcox, but at the same time, she couldn't stop herself.<p>

"You really should just turn that thing off." Auggie's voice in her doorway caused her to jump.

"I know, but I can't. It's like watching a car wreck. You don't want to see it, but you can't help but look."

"Jai is back, he's up talking with Arthur." Auggie settled into the sofa.

"Make yourself at home." Joan smiled at him while hitting mute on the television and returned to her desk.

"I've been thinking…" Auggie began and he leaned forward, placing his elbows on his knees. "We need to get in front of this thing that is going on around here."

"Whatever this is…" Joan trailed off.

"We need to play one close to the vest, next time an info drop lands on your desk, we need to move up the time table," Auggie continued.

Joan smiled, they've been working together so long; she knew where he was going with his idea. "And if this is more than bad luck, we need to turn our luck around."

"Exactly."

* * *

><p>Julie Donovan signed deeply as she hung up the phone, as the assistant to the Director of Clandestine Services; Julie had the security clearance of most of the management on the seventh floor of Langley. The one thing that she knew that the other members of the management team did not always know, it was when her boss was having a lousy week. This was one of those weeks and the phone call she had just received wasn't going to make his week any better. Knowing that she couldn't put off the inevitable, she stood up and walked across the plush carpet to the imposing double doors of her boss's office.<p>

"Come in," Arthur responded to her knock from the other side of the door.

Julie cautiously opened the door and stepped inside, thankfully Arthur wasn't the kind of boss that would shoot the messenger, at least he never did that to her. "Just got off the phone with Shelly in Steve Baylor's office…"

"He wants to see me as soon as possible?" Arthur asked looking up from his desk.

"How did you know?" Julie sighed in relief.

"With all the crap that's been happening around here, I figured the Director of National Intelligence would want to see me."

"First thing in the morning."

* * *

><p>Allen's Tavern was unusually quiet for a Wednesday night; usually by Wednesday everyone was ready to shake off the effects of a busy workweek with a couple of bottles of beer and a round of darts.<p>

"The place sounds deserted," Auggie commented as he took Annie's sighted lead through the maze of tables to their favorite table.

"It is, surprisingly." Annie answered as she brought his hand to the back of a chair and parked their beer bottles on the table with a noisy flourish to tell Auggie where they were.

Auggie sat in the chair and reached for his beer, taking a drink and closing his eyes.

"Long week already?" Annie asked.

"Irritating week." Auggie leaned back in his chair. "Irritating and somehow I think it should be explainable, but it's not."

"Maybe we should just buy a lottery ticket, considering our luck as of late." Annie said with a smile, trying to lighten the mood.

"What, your government pension isn't good enough?"

"I'm not fully vested yet."

"We're going to get to the bottom of it, don't you worry," Auggie said mysteriously.

Annie looked around to make sure that no one else from their office was nearby. "What, do you have a plan?"

"You know I always have a plan," Auggie answered before taking another long swallow of beer.

* * *

><p><em>More to come soon. Thanks for reading and reviews are always appreciated. <em>

_-M_


	2. Chapter 2

"Auggie, could you step in here for a minute?" Joan asked as she caught Auggie walking down the hallway, cup of coffee in hand.

"What's up?" he asked as he followed the sound of her footsteps into her office.

"Door…"

Auggie closed the door behind him and took a few steps toward Joan's desk.

"Just got a report from a walk-in, I think it might be actionable, but I want you to look into it. Quietly."

"Okay," Auggie said slowly while taking the file folder that Joan brushed against his left hand. Setting his coffee on the desk, he opened it and examined the Braille documents inside for a moment, before closing it again.

"Helen Rentmeester of Oakton sent her grandson in to see us. She thinks there's something strange going on in her neighborhood. New neighbors, lots of deliveries, lots of traffic at all hours."

"Drug house?"

"Maybe, if so we'll give it to the DEA, but she says the new neighbors are of Middle Eastern descent."

"I'm on it," Auggie tucked the folder under his left arm and turned toward the door.

"Quietly," Joan reminded him, "If this is actionable, I don't want our bad karma ruining it."

* * *

><p>Arthur Campbell had been the Director of Clandestine Services for nearly two years, but he still got a pit in his stomach every time he got called to the office of the Director of National Intelligence. He paced the reception area, going over what he was sure the conversation was going to be in his head. Steve Baylor was going to want to know why so many operations had gone sour and what he was doing to get in front of the situation. At this point Arthur didn't have an explanation and he wished he did.<p>

"Arthur, come on in," Steve Baylor greeted the DCS from the door to his office. "Got a fresh pot of coffee if you want some," Steve motioned to the small table by the door as Arthur walked inside.

"I know what you're going to ask me," Arthur said, "What the hell is going on?"

"About sums it up," Steve said as he joined Arthur at the expansive conference table.

"I really wish I knew," Arthur began the speech he'd rehearsed in his head in the shower that morning, "It seems like everything we touch is going to hell right now. It's almost like someone is one step ahead of us."

"How can it be, the leak is on trial as we speak."

"I know; that's what makes this so damn frustrating."

"You've got a security problem, Arthur," the tone of Steve's voice told Arthur that he was fed up with the bullshit that was happening at the CIA. "You need to get in front of this. Now."

"Understood."

"I don't care what methods you use. You're the damned CIA, be sneaky, but figure it out."

* * *

><p>Jai took a deep breath as he pulled open the doors to the Langley headquarters; somehow his entrance into the building each morning seemed like a weird combination of a perp walk and a freak show. Everyone seemed to be staring at him and whispering about him. He hated it. He hated coming to work each day and most of all he hated his father for creating this mess.<p>

"Jai…" Annie said as she walked faster to catch up to him.

"Be careful," Jai tried to unsuccessfully to hide his sarcasm.

"Of what?" Annie asked falling into step with him.

"Me. You might catch what I've got."

"You're sick?"

The two of them rounded the corner of the main hallway and continued to the entrance of the DPD. "No, but I might as well have the plague."

"You're just being sensitive."

"Am I?" Jai asked. "It's amazing how easy it is to fall from grace around here. With one fell swoop of my father's ego, I went from CIA royalty to an ogre in no time flat."

"They'll get over it," Annie said as Jai opened the DPD office door for her. "Or you could always change your name."

"I'm sure I have a NOC identity I could pull out," Jai smiled at her, she always managed to lighten his mood.

* * *

><p>"Coffee?" Stu asked Auggie as he stood up from his desk.<p>

"Yeah, sure, thanks." Auggie was distracted when he answered.

"Hi Joan," Stu greeted his director as he passed her in the doorway.

"Anything?" Joan asked as she slid the door to Tech Ops office closed behind her.

"Maybe…" Auggie answered sliding his headphones down and turning toward Joan.

"435 Pine Street was in foreclosure two months ago. Purchased at a sheriff's auction by someone named Gerald Baker. On the surface it doesn't seem so bad, until you get to the utility bills. The name on the power and water bill is Ali Mohammed."

"You think they're the same person?"

"Could be," Auggie continued, "I hacked into the UPS system."

"Auggie…."

"I _carefully_ hacked into the UPS system. Lots of the packages arriving at that address are coming out of south Florida."

"The Port of Miami is notoriously porous," Joan surmised.

"My thought exactly."

"Good work. We're going to keep this one quiet. I'll read Arthur in, but it's me, you Annie and Jai. That's it for now. Give me twenty minutes and meet me in my office."

* * *

><p>Julie could tell by the posture of her boss that the meeting at the DNI's office was not a friendly breakfast; yes, Arthur was on the warpath. Again.<p>

Arthur stopped in front of Julie's desk and picked up the hand written messages on pink paper. He glanced at them and then turned his gaze to his assistant. "I want to meet with Bill, Ken, David and Joan. Individually this morning. Don't let them give you any 'I'm busy' bullshit."

"Got it, but I don't have to call Joan. She's in your office," Julie told him as he swung open the door to his office.

"Morning," Arthur greeted his wife as he tossed his suit jacket on a conference table chair.

"I take it the meeting with Steve went the way you thought it would," Joan said from her seat at the conference table.

"He's pissed, and rightfully so. I'm pissed. I can't believe that I've had to deal with this twice in the last year. It's almost like I wasn't supposed to take this job," Arthur answered as he sank into a chair across from his wife.

"I don't think that's it."

"He wants me to get to the bottom of this. Hell, I want to get to the bottom of this!"

"_We_ will get to the bottom of this." Joan reached for his hand and gave it a squeeze.

Arthur looked at his wife; she always knew what to say to him. "So, why were you waiting for me?"

"We got some intel from a walk-in this morning, I had Auggie check it out, and I think it's actionable."

"Good."

"But I don't want to let everyone in on it, it could be a serious issue and I don't want it to end up like the last few ops," Joan explained.

"Do what you need to do." Arthur sighed; he didn't have time to micro-mange this or anything else right now. "I trust you. And right now, you're the only one I trust."

* * *

><p>"Joan back?" Auggie asked as he approached the sound of Annie and Jai's voices in the bullpen.<p>

"Just came back, she's in her office," Annie answered from behind her computer monitor.

"Good, we have a meeting with her." Auggie replied, "Now."

"Now? What's up?" Jai asked as he stood up from his desk.

"Can't say out here," Auggie said mysteriously as he took Annie's elbow after she brushed the back of his hand and the three of them ascended the stairs toward their boss's office. A moment later they were all seated in the office with the door closed behind them.

"Arthur agrees with us Auggie," Joan told him as she closed the blinds on the windows. There would be no visual clues to this operation from anyone passing by.

"Good," Auggie said as he held out a few file folders in Annie and Jai's direction.

Annie and Jai took the files and began to flip through them, looking up at Joan and Auggie for clarification of the information in front of them.

"Helen Rentmeester is a sweet little old lady in Oakton. She's also quite nosey like many little old ladies. She's been watching her new neighbors across the street for a few weeks and she's convinced something is going on there. Lots of deliveries and lots of activity," Joan began, "Auggie pulled the ownership of the home in question and it's a recent foreclosure sale."

"And the utility bills don't match the homeowner. No big deal there, but the bills are in the name of Ali Mohammed. Clue one. Clue two: many of the deliveries are from south Florida," Auggie finished for his boss.

"You're not sending me to Miami again?" Jai sighed.

"Not yet," Joan said with a smile, she knew how much Jai hated Miami. "I want you watching the house, I want to know who is coming and going and when the deliveries are arriving and from what delivery company."

"Easy enough. At least I don't have to go to Miami." Jai thought out loud.

"Annie, you're Amy Jorgensen, the grandson Jason Rentmeester's girlfriend. You're here to look for a job and you're crashing in her guest room. You work with Auggie to set up surveillance from Helen's house." Joan continued.

"Helen's okay with this?" Jai asked.

"She is. She wants her neighborhood back. Finally, this stays in this room. Don't tell anyone what we're doing. If this is something I don't want our operation compromised. Understood?" Joan got up from her desk and opened the blinds, letting the light from the bullpen back into the room.

"Understood," Annie said standing up, "When is Helen expecting me?"

"Tonight. You and Auggie get together and get your equipment set. Jai hit the road. We may still catch some deliveries yet today."

The three operatives nodded their heads and left the office to begin their assignment.

* * *

><p><em>Note: A thank you to PatriciaLouise for catching a great big snafu in this chapter.<em> _She's good at catching my boo boos, but that's not her only talent- Check out "Happily Ever After". _

_Thanks for reading and reviews are always appreciated. _

_-M_


	3. Chapter 3

_Note: PatriciaLouise says that this chapter is ready to go now, thanks to her for suggestions and fixes._

* * *

><p>"What's all this?" Annie asked Auggie as she walked into his office, sliding the door closed behind her. "You never struck me as someone who's into knickknacks."<p>

Auggie smiled at her and waved his hand across the top of the display in front of him, "I'm not, have you seen my apartment? These wonderful little works of art are all cameras and long distance microphones."

"Really?" Annie picked up a small blue glass bird. "It looks like something my grandmother had in her living room on the windowsill."

"Exactly. They will look perfectly in place on a little old lady's windowsill."

"Genius." Annie set down the blue bird and picked up a porcelain shoe, "But kinda hideous."

"We're not looking for style points here." Auggie handed her a box with some pieces of bubble wrap inside. "Let's wrap up these babies and get them to Helen's."

* * *

><p>Even though they were friends and trained at the Farm together, Ken Jacobs was well aware that Arthur Campbell was now his boss. He always was an imposing figure; the fire in his eyes today told Ken that he meant business.<p>

"Do you believe in trust?" Arthur asked Ken as he settled into the leather chair behind his desk. A conversation like this needed to be held where he was in a place of authority, no conference tables or comfy side chairs today.

"Yes, of course," Ken stammered, wondering where this conversation was going to go.

"As my Director of Asian Operations, I trust you. I trust your judgment and I trust the confidentiality of you and your people."

"That goes without saying."

"I also trust that you are not sharing information that is discussed in our management staff meetings with anyone else in your division. Am I wrong to place that trust in you?"

"Arthur, what are you implying?"

"I believe we have another leak within the agency. I don't know where it's coming from and I'm damned disgusted that I have to have this conversation with my directors again. This time the son-of-a-bitch is jeopardizing our operations and compromising sources, all for their own satisfaction."

"And you think it's me?" Ken asked.

"I don't know who it is, but no one – not a damned person – is above suspicion right now. If anything that is leaked jeopardizes one of my officers or the safety of the people we are entrusted to protect, I will destroy that person. Do you understand?" Arthur stated firmly.

Ken sat in silence for a few minutes taking in all that Arthur had just insinuated.

"Do you understand?" Arthur asked again.

"I understand, but Arthur we go way back, how could you think? …"

"I don't know what to think right now, other than the fact that when I find the SOB I'm going to hang them out to dry."

* * *

><p>The house seemed rather innocuous. Older suburban tree lined street, nice houses, garages, and kids riding their bikes. There was no way something could be happening here. Was there? Jai sat in the gray rental car watching the FedEx Ground driver deliver three packages on the front porch. The driver rang the bell and went back to his truck. On cue, the woman opened the door, looked around and collected the packages.<p>

Jai grabbed a notebook from the passenger seat and recorded the number of boxes, delivery company, and the time of delivery. He picked up his phone and dialed, "Hey Auggie, any chance you can hack into FedEx Ground?"

"Is that rhetorical?" Auggie said with a laugh on the other end of the line.

"It wasn't supposed to be," Jai said dryly.

"Whatsha got?" Auggie asked pulling his headphones up to his ears.

* * *

><p>"Business trip again?" Danielle asked her sister as she watched Annie throw various clothing items into her worn carryon bag.<p>

"Just for a few days, a week at most," Annie explained as she walked toward the bathroom.

Danielle sat on the bed next to the carryon, exasperated. "Where are they sending you this time?"

"Memphis."

"Memphis as in Elvis Memphis?"

"Exactly, I'm meeting with the curator of Graceland, we might be doing an Elvis exhibit on the fortieth anniversary of his death," Annie explained.

"That's in, like, six years," Danielle observed doing the math in her head.

"How do you know that?" Annie poked her head out of the bathroom. "Are you a closet fan of the King?"

"No … well, maybe."

"Don't worry, I'll send you a postcard."

* * *

><p>"Did Jai check in?" Joan asked Auggie as she sat in the empty chair at the computer station across from his desk.<p>

"About an hour ago. FedEx Ground delivered three more packages. I'm working on getting into their system," Auggie answered as he punched keys on his keyboard. "They're a little more challenging that UPS."

"A little old shipping company has the great August Anderson stumped?"

"I wouldn't go that far ... I should be in pretty soon. I'll call you when I have something."

Joan stood up and watched Auggie work, moments later, a wide smile spread across his face.

"Joan ..." he said turning to face her, "I'm in."

* * *

><p>David Westcott didn't particularly like working for Arthur Campbell, but Arthur left him alone for the most part and let him run operations in the European theater how he saw fit. Outside of their director's meeting, his contact with Arthur was minimal at best, so being called into Arthur's office today was a bit unusual.<p>

"Come on in David … close the door," Arthur said from behind his desk as he walked into the room.

"What's up?" David asked as he sat in one of the chairs across from Arthur, "Julie said it was important, but wouldn't say why."

"That's because I asked her not to."

"So?" David leaned back in his chair, "What can I do for you?"

"I went to see Steve Baylor this morning."

"How's the grouchy old fart?"

"Irritated. And frankly so am I." Arthur wasn't in the mood to play games. Not today.

"So read me in."

"Do you believe in trust?" Arthur asked David the same question that he asked Ken an hour ago.

"Do you?"

Arthur leaned back in his chair; David was baiting him and betting on his anger. "I'm the damned DCS and I'm asking the questions. Do you believe in trust?"

"I suppose, why?"

"Well I do. I trust you as my Director of European Operations and as one of my directors."

"Where are you going with this?"

"You've undoubtedly heard about the busted missions in Joan's division."

"Yeah, string of bad luck."

"I don't buy it and as one of my trusted directors, neither should you," Arthur told him, "This morning I discussed the possibility of another leak with Steve. We agree that there is someone betraying our trust within this building again. He's not happy. And I'm downright furious."

"Got that."

"Can I trust that you are not discussing any operational details from our management meetings with anyone in your division?"

"Of course. Are you implying that someone in my supervision is jeopardizing Joan's operations?"

"I'm implying that no one is above suspicion. Including you. Batten down your ship, because the hurricane is coming. His name is Arthur. Do I make myself clear?"

"Crystal. Are we done here?"

"We're more than done here." Arthur watched David get up from his chair and stride confidently out of his office.

* * *

><p>"What did you tell Danielle this time?" Auggie asked.<p>

"That I'm going to Memphis to start the research on an Elvis display for the fortieth anniversary of his death."

"Seriously? What made you think of Elvis?"

"Heard one of his songs on the radio as I was pulling in the driveway, any chance you could have someone send her a postcard from Graceland?"

"I usually save that trick for important operations."

"Please Auggie? it's so much easier to lie to her when I have visual proof ... Okay, I'm pulling off the highway now." Annie updated him as she eased the rental car off the interstate, "Do you think you could have gotten me something other than a Taurus?"

"You're looking for a job, it's not like you should be driving a Lexus or Jaguar," Auggie joked, "Jai should be parked across the street in a gray sedan."

"Inconspicuous. Did you at least get him a Toyota?"

"Having car envy are you?"

"Maybe, just once I'd like to have a glamorous assignment."

"You _were_ in Paris earlier this year."

"Yeah, yeah ..." Annie replied as she pulled onto the suburban street, "I see Jai."

"Good, Helen's should be the white cape cod across from our subject's house."

"Got it," Annie said as she pulled into the driveway. "Looks like Helen is waiting for me," Annie observed the sheer curtains rustling in the front window.

"Alright, call me when you're starting to set up the surveillance devices."

* * *

><p>"Joan, it's six o'clock …" Jai half whined into the phone.<p>

"I have a watch Jai. Your point?" Joan answered while she absentmindedly looked at some files on her desk.

"How much longer do I have to sit outside this place? I'm pretty sure the delivery companies have closed for the night."

"Probably, just stay put until Annie gets her stuff in place. Maybe another hour."

"An hour?"

"You can always go to Miami," Joan threatened playfully.

"Fine." Jai huffed, "Call me when they're done."

* * *

><p>Bill Davis stood outside the office of the Director Clandestine Services. He spent many afternoons shooting the crap in this office with Henry Wilcox over a glass of whiskey or single malt scotch, discussing black ops and the idiots on Capitol Hill. Now, he was rarely invited into Arthur's office except to get his ass chewed, today was going to be no different.<p>

"Six o'clock on a Thursday. Really Arthur?" Bill Davis commented as he walked into Arthur's office.

"Julie called your office at eleven this morning. So it's not like you didn't know that I wanted to meet with you," Arthur said from his place of authority behind his expansive desk. "Close the door and have a seat."

"Sounds serious." The Director of South American Operations took a seat across from Arthur. "Am I getting fired?"

"Should you be getting fired?"

"I don't think so, but we both know I'm not your favorite director."

"I don't play favorites, unlike my predecessor." Arthur leaned forward and put his elbows on this desk. "Do you understand the definition of trust?"

"Is this a trick question?"

"Maybe. I'm having some difficulty with trust right now. I met with Steve this morning and we agree that there is something going on within the agency. We have another leak and my trust is being betrayed."

"Sure that's not sitting well with Baylor."

"It doesn't and it certainly doesn't with me. We've had some busted operations recently; ones that could have had serious repercussions for our national security. I trust that you're not sharing any sensitive information about operations that are discussed in director level meetings."

"That would be a direct violation of clearance levels," Bill stated matter-of-factly.

"Yes, it would. And it would be a treasonous offence," Arthur stated firmly. "Is it safe to assume that you understand where I am coming from?"

"That would be safe to assume," Bill answered.

"There is no gray area here. I will get the bastard that is leaking information if it's the last thing I do."

"Understandable." Bill leaned back in his chair, looking longingly at the bottle of whiskey on the sideboard.

* * *

><p>"Okay, they should all be in place," Annie told Auggie as she put the last china bird on the windowsill facing the suspect's home while balancing her cell phone on her shoulder.<p>

"Let me make sure they're all on line," Auggie answered, punching keys rhythmically on his keyboard. "Got the audio … Barber, how's the video?"

"You pulled Eric into the loop?" Annie asked.

"Had to. I can't tell what the video is like. Don't worry, I got Joan's permission."

"We've got visual," Eric Barber reported from behind Auggie.

"We're set. So how's Helen?"

Annie looked toward the living room and observed Helen Rentmeester sitting on the edge of her recliner, binoculars in hand, waiting for the next move across the street. "She's like my grandmother, in a sweet stalker sort of way."

"That bad, huh?" Auggie said and laughed.

"Not really. She's been very accommodating." Annie pulled the sheer away from the window and spotted Jai sitting sleepily in the gray Toyota Camry. "We really should let Jai go home, he looks bored out of his mind."

"We should, but ..." Auggie teased.

"You're mean Auggie. Did I ever tell you that?" Annie said as she let the sheer curtain slide back into place.

"All the time." Auggie leaned back in his chair. "Have a nice night, we'll keep an eye on things here …"

* * *

><p>"News from Oakton?" Arthur asked his wife as he set a cup of coffee on her desk.<p>

"Annie's in place and we have eyes and ears on them." Joan scooped up the coffee and took a drink. "Now we just watch and gather information."

"The boring part ..."

"But necessary. Did you meet with Brutus one, two and three?"

"I did," Arthur sank into a chair across from his wife, "And I still don't know what to think."

"Follow your gut and we'll set the guilty party up to fall, just like we did with Henry."

"You sure this will work?"

"It has to. For all of us," Joan said and sighed.

"Anything we can use yet?" Arthur asked hopefully. He wanted this to end. And soon.

"Not yet, but the pieces will fall into place. Have faith."

* * *

><p><em>Thanks for reading.<em>

_-M_


	4. Chapter 4

__Note: This story is evolving from my original plan. A plot bunny paid me a visit and hijacked my plans. Naughty bunnies!__

* * *

><p>It was another reason in the book of reasons that Joan didn't like him, Jai thought as he pulled his carryon bag behind him down the jet way of Miami International airport. She knew how much he hated Miami and yet here he was, again, in the god forsaken sun-drenched town. He wondered if it was bad karma that he kept getting ops that brought him to Miami.<p>

"I'm here," Jai reported to Auggie as soon as he was clear of the jet way and safely in the concourse. "Not happy about it, but I'm here."

"You're in a city full of beautiful, barely dressed women. You can't make the best of it?" Auggie observed Jai's displeasure with the assignment and pushed a few of his buttons.

"I could, but I won't be here that long."

"Well, Wilson is expecting you at the Miami station as soon as you can get there."

"Perfect," Jai answered, "Call you once I'm in."

* * *

><p>"It's getting bigger than I wanted it to," Joan said as she sank into one of the chairs across from Arthur, "I had to send Jai to Miami and read Wilson in."<p>

"You sent Jai to Miami?" Arthur asked swiveling his chair to face his wife. "Bet he's happy about that."

"Auggie traced most of the packages to a UPS store on Biscayne Boulevard. I'm having Jai check it out."

"Who else have you read in?" Arthur asked.

"So far, just Wilson and Eric Barber in Tech Ops. I had to have him help Auggie with the video."

"I'm not too worried about Barber. Have Auggie keep an eye on Wilson's phone."

* * *

><p>"Morning, sunshine."<p>

"Morning, Auggie," Annie said sleepily into the phone.

"Not much sleep?"

"Helen likes to talk and she likes to play cards, she kept me up until two a.m. playing canasta."

"You know how to play canasta?" Auggie feigned surprise.

"I know how to do so many _different _things," Annie answered playfully. "Anything from the overnight?"

"Nothing on the audio. I have Barber going over the video right now. Nothing so far except for another UPS delivery. We've traced most of the UPS shipments to a UPS store near the Port of Miami. Jai's on it."

"Lucky Jai," Annie said with a laugh.

"I'm sure he thinks so right about now."

* * *

><p>"Jai Wilcox. It's great to see your Ivy League mug back in Miami," Richard Wilson, Jr. greeted Jai with an outstretched hand.<p>

"Rick, how are you doing?" Jai returned the handshake and watched Richard flinch at the use of the nickname he hated. "Still roughing it, I see." Jai looked out the window of the FDA office that also doubled as the Miami station to the causeway between Miami Beach and Miami proper. The view was spectacular and certainly better than even the seventh floor offices at Langley.

"Gotta admit, it's better than that basement dungeon that Roach has in London, I'm just happy to be running my own station at this age," Richard opened the door to his office and motioned for Jai to follow him. "I've reached out to an asset, I think we can get you in on the Biscayne Bay location."

"Any luck tailing the people from the Kinko's?"

"I thought we might check out the place this afternoon," Richard said as he sat down at his desk. "Want to catch a bite to eat tonight? I know a great place down on the beach."

"Nah, I think I'll skip it and order room service," Jai begged off; the last thing he wanted to do was have dinner with this pompous ass.

* * *

><p>It had been nearly three years since Scott Simpson had set foot in Langley. He had lived and breathed the place since he graduated from MIT; that was until he found himself the father of triplets. Secretly he was happy that he had turned the reigns of Tech Ops over to Auggie, he trusted Auggie, in more ways than one. You could take the man out of the agency, but the agency was always in the man. Today was one of those days.<p>

"Auggie Anderson, I like what you've done with the place," Scott said as he walked into the Tech Ops office.

Auggie turned his attention toward the sound of the familiar voice, "Scott Simpson?"

"You got it buddy," Scott walked over to his successor and slapped him lightly on the back, "Nice digs."

"Nothing like the train wreck you called the bat cave," Auggie said with a laugh. "How are the kids?"

"Great, just about to leave the terrible twos and hit the even more terrible threes," Scott fingered the badge attached to his shirt with the bright red 'V' on it. Part of him wanted to be back where the action was, here at Langley.

"If you're angling for your old job back, I'm not going anywhere."

Scott's mind was pulled back into reality. "Huh? No, that's not why I'm here. Got a minute and someplace we can talk?" Scott tried to hide the concern in his voice, but he wasn't a trained field agent like Auggie. He was thankful that Eric Barber wasn't either.

"Sure," Auggie heard the catch in Scott's voice and got up and grabbed his laser cane from its spot on the edge of his desk, "Would you keep an eye on things for me Barber?"

"You got it boss," Eric said from his desk in the corner of the office.

* * *

><p>"Are you sure I can't make you some lunch dear?" Helen Rentmeester's voice called from the kitchen.<p>

Annie had been watching the house across the street all morning. There was nothing of any real interest to report; the occupants had received several packages from UPS, but other than that, it was pretty standard surveillance. All of it had been caught on one of the cameras that Annie set up on the windowsill last night. "I'm not that hungry, but thank you anyway."

"My grandkids say I make a pretty mean chicken soup," Helen said as she walked into the living room while drying her hands on a towel. "You should really eat something."

Annie looked up into the expectant eyes of her hostess, "It does smell pretty good."

"That's settled then, come with me." A wide smile spread across Helen's face.

* * *

><p>"So what's up?" Auggie finally asked as the past and present Tech Ops department managers settled onto the stone bench in the courtyard.<p>

"You know I started my own business after the kids were born and Amy made partner?" Scott started.

"That's what I heard, it's going well, I assume."

"Terrific, I'm busy all the time. I'm getting a good reputation and lots of referrals, that's why this is so hard for me to do. ... One of my regular customers referred her brother-in-law to me. It was a pretty forward hard drive crash, so I replaced it for him. But when I was scanning it for any data I missed before recycling it, I ran across something …."

"So this is a CivOb?" Auggie interrupted.

"I suppose it is, in an off the books sort of way." Scott smiled at the familiar slang term of spies. "And for most computer geeks what I found wouldn't mean anything …"

"But you're not a normal computer geek," Auggie finished for him.

"I can't be, just like you're not a normal Tech Ops guy. There was a series of e-mails; it looked like the best way to slay a dragon to a normal person. Maybe even strategy for a video game. The use of poison, sword, a gun, but the dragon wasn't in places that a dragon would be. And I doubted it was a video game."

Auggie's ears perked up at what he was hearing, was he really hearing this?

"Then they mentioned a badger," Scott continued as he took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes nervously.

"Shit," Auggie said as a chill ran down his spine.

"My thoughts exactly. I don't really think I'm breaking any kind of confidentiality code for computer technicians; but I did hang on to that hard drive," Scott said in a half whisper.

"Where is it?"

"I have three kids to think about. I really didn't want to get caught up in this; but I couldn't do nothing. If this is something, I couldn't let it hang on my conscience."

"Do you have it someplace safe?"

"I do. The original is in a safe deposit box. I also ghosted a few copies of it. They're in two other safe deposit boxes, different banks; the keys are in yet another safe deposit box, different bank."

"Smart move, once a company man …"

"Always a company man. I know," Scott said and sighed.

"We should probably take this to Arthur," Auggie suggested as he stood up.

Scott stood up next to Auggie and put his glasses back on. "No, you take it to Arthur. I don't want to spend anymore time here than necessary." Scott reached for Auggie's hand and pressed a card into it.

Auggie grasped the card and felt the crude yet readable Braille numbers on it; Scott must have used a nail and a piece of cardboard. "What is this?" Part of him was surprised that Scott thought enough to create a note that very few people could read; part of him was not.

"Phone number for a burn phone I bought this morning. I need to get that hard drive into your hands, but we need to do this right. I don't want this to be traced back to me."

Auggie drew air into his lungs and let it out slowly. "Understood."

"I need to get out of here," Scott said as he began to move toward the entrance. "My involvement with this begins and ends with you and only you."

"Absolutely," Auggie said following the sound of Scott's footsteps to the door. The two men walked back into the corridor. "Thank you Scott," Auggie extended his hand to his friend and predecessor. "You did the right thing."

"I know." Scott shook Auggie's hand firmly. "Just tell my stomach that. I never did have the guts for field work."

* * *

><p>One of the things that Jai disliked about his job was surveillance; it was boring and repetitive and always involved some sort of junk food. Surveillance was even worse when he was sitting in a car with a man he disliked.<p>

"So, that's something about your father," Richard said as he looked through the binoculars at the FedEx Kinko's store in Biscayne Bay.

Jai let out an irritated laugh and replied, "It only took you three hours to mention it. Pretty amazing."

"Treason? What was he thinking? He was forever entrenched as an elder statesman in the world of intelligence and he leaked information to a reporter. Arrogant if you ask me."

"Suppose your father wouldn't do anything like that if he got unceremoniously shoved out the door," Jai said tersely.

"If my father did, he wouldn't be stupid enough to get caught."

"Like your father does everything above the board," Jai mocked him, "the Director of the FBI can do no wrong. I almost forgot about the Congressional hearings four years ago. Wait, I was out in the field, doing real work then while you were here in this cushy job in Miami. Did Daddy help you get the station chief job?"

Richard put down the binoculars and stared at his colleague. "I got here on my own, just like you did!"

The two men sat in silence for a minute wanting to joust like two princes from warring kingdoms in medieval times.

"I almost forgot what a pain in the ass you were to work with," Jai finally said as he opened the passenger door to the car. "You know what _Ricky_, I'll keep an eye on things from the coffee shop."

"Fine!" Richard said to the slamming car door.

Jai walked quickly down the street toward the small sidewalk coffee shop, "I hate this fucking town," he mumbled.

* * *

><p>"Where are you going?" Helen asked Annie as she emerged from the guest room in workout clothes.<p>

"Thought I might go for a jog. Check out the neighborhood," Annie replied as she lunged forward in a stretch.

"What about them?" Helen gestured in the direction of the subject house.

"My guys back at the office have it under control; they're keeping an eye on things. I want to check out the back of the property and what else is going on around here."

* * *

><p>After listening to Scott's footsteps echo down the hallway, Auggie turned on his heel and began to walk quickly down the halls of Langley. He did not stop at his office; he did not pass go. Instead he went straight for the elevator to the seventh floor. It seemed like forever before he heard the sound of the elevator door opening in front of him. After entering the car, he reached out and, reading the Braille numerals on the wall of the elevator, pushed the button for the executive floor. He could only hope that Arthur was in his office and that he wasn't in a meeting that he couldn't be disturbed from. Hell, for this he could be disturbed. Normally, Auggie was a patient man; he had to be. Today the elevator was testing every bit of his patience.<p>

* * *

><p>As Annie slowly jogged down the street, she looked around at the neighborhood that a terrorist cell might have moved into. On any other day she would be envious of this place, it was the type of hometown that she imagined herself living in if her family had ever been able to put down roots. Base housing was always utilitarian, kind of like 1970s tract homes, but without any character or soul. She rounded the corner to the street behind the subject house and slowed down to a walk, trying to make it look like she was cooling off while observing the back of the subject house out of the corner of her eye.<p>

"Hello there," a voice called from her right.

Annie turned to see an older gentleman standing in his front yard with a hose in his hand watering his flower garden, "Hello," Annie greeted the man and walked slowly toward him.

"I saw you come out of Helen's house. Are you visiting her?" the man asked.

Annie smiled warmly at him, now she had to pull out her cover identity. "Yes, Helen was kind enough to let me stay with her for a few days while I check out jobs in the area." Annie extended her hand toward the man, "I'm Amy Jorgensen, a friend of Jason's."

"Ed Morton, nice to meet you Amy." Ed returned her handshake, "And it's nice to see some activity at Helen's. Other than her grandson, I never see anyone over there."

Annie let that comment drop because she didn't have an answer for it and there was something else that she wanted to talk about with Ed. "This is such a beautiful neighborhood, have you lived here long?"

"If you call fifty years long, then yes. My wife and I bought this house right after I got back from the Korean War, Navy man," Ed answered as he continued to water his flowers.

Annie smiled at him, normally she would have embarked on a conversation about their similar backgrounds, her father was in Vietnam, but Amy's father was an accountant and he lived in Baltimore, "I love the architecture of the white house across from Helen's, what do you know about it?"

"Oh, that house," Ed said knowingly. "Sally King lived there for years; she passed a few years back and some uppity folks from the city bought it to fix it up and sell it. Suppose they ran out of money, because it sat empty for a few years. Then the new people bought it. Seem nice enough, but they're kind of off."

"Off?"

"It's a lady and her son, but she has lots of men coming and going at all hours of the night. Sometimes the noise wakes up my Shirley."

Now they were getting somewhere. "Noise?"

"From the second garage out back. If I didn't know better, I'd think they were firing guns or shooting off fireworks. I reported it to the police, but nothing came of it. Still, they seem nice enough."

The front door of the house opened behind Ed and an older woman stepped onto the front porch. "Are you going to keep talking to that pretty thing or come inside and talk to your granddaughter on the phone?" the older woman scolded him.

Ed rolled his eyes at the sound his wife's voice. "Nice meeting you Amy. Better go inside before I get into any more trouble."

* * *

><p>Auggie pushed open the heavy glass doors of the DCS office and stood in silence for a moment listening for the sound of Julie, Arthur's assistant.<p>

"Hey Auggie," Julie said from the far side of the office. "What can I do for you?"

Auggie turned in the direction of her voice. "Is he in?"

Julie crossed the office to stand in front of her desk next to Auggie. "He is, and he's in with Joan."

"I really need to talk to him," Auggie said hoping the tone of his voice would convey how important it was that he speak to Arthur.

"Hang on a sec, let me ring in." Julie picked up the phone and touched a button on it, "I have Auggie out here; the look on his face told me I'd better interrupt you. ... Great I'll send him in." Julie hung up to the phone. "Go on in," she told Auggie.

"Thanks," Auggie told her and then turned to this left and counted the steps to the wooden doors of Arthur's office. Running his hand down the door he found the doorknob and took a deep breath before he opened the door.

* * *

><p><em>Thanks to PatriciaLouise for her corrections and suggestions. Because of her, you are no longer subjected to the sloppy chapters I've produced in the past. <em>

_Thanks for reading. _

_M_


	5. Chapter 5

No_te: This chapter took a little longer to get finished than I thought it would. That darned life thing got in the way._

* * *

><p>Auggie pushed open the door of the DCS office and stepped inside. He closed the door softly behind him and listened for a moment orienting himself. He'd been in Arthur's office often enough that he didn't need his cane, but he knew he was distracted enough to trip over a chair.<p>

"We're over by the desk," Joan said, "The chair closest to the door is open."

Auggie smiled a bit and silently thanked his boss for being so thoughtful as he moved across the room toward the desk.

"You look like you've seen a ghost. Did something go to hell on the Oakton mission?" Arthur asked with concern as Auggie sat in the chair.

"Believe it or not, I'd rather I'd seen a ghost right now."

"What's going on, Auggie?" Joan questioned.

"I just got a CivOb that I think is actionable. No, I know it's actionable."

Arthur furrowed his brow, "I usually get copied on all CivObs, what was Julie doing out there?"

"No, no, it's not Julie's fault," Auggie defended Arthur's assistant. "Someone came to me personally with information that he'd discovered. What he said sent a shiver down my spine."

"Who?" Joan asked.

"We'll get to that later." Auggie drew in a deep breath before beginning the explanation that he rehearsed in the elevator just moments before. "This person is a fellow computer guy and he was cleaning off a hard drive that he'd replaced for a customer and ran across a series of e-mails. The e-mails mentioned various ways to kill a dragon. Seems innocent enough, it could be a video game. But the dragon wasn't in any mythological places. The e-mails went on to mention a badger."

Arthur and Joan looked at each other and simultaneously felt the color drain from their faces. "You're kidding me, right?" Arthur asked.

"I wish I was," Auggie answered.

* * *

><p>"Job Center, this is Eric," Eric answered the line with a cheerful voice.<p>

"Eric, why are you answering the phone?" Annie asked.

"Nice to hear from you, Amy," Eric kept the cover intact.

"I was kind of hoping to speak to Mr. Anderson."

"Mr. Anderson stepped out to speak with a colleague quite a while ago. I'm kind of surprised that he isn't back yet."

"And he left you manning the fort?"

"So to speak, yes."

"Okay, I'm sending you an e-mail. Can you see what you can tell me about the perspective employers?" Annie said as she hit send on her laptop.

"Will do. Would you like me to have Mr. Anderson call you when he returns?"

"Yes, please. I think I'm making progress."

* * *

><p>Jai sat in an uncomfortable metal chair at the outdoor coffee shop seething from his confrontation with the arrogant ass that was Richard Wilson, Jr. He knew that he had a job to do and he had to work with Wilson, but he couldn't help but wish that he father was still at the helm of the CIA and he could use his influence to show Junior the door.<p>

Across the street a very large and ancient white Oldsmobile station wagon pulled up in front of the FedEx ground location. A small man, probably of Mexican descent got out of the driver's seat and walked around to the back of the car, he opened the back of the tailgate and began to unload several boxes. Jai watched with much interest. He wasn't the only one watching.

"See the little man and the beached whale?" Richard asked via Jai's ear bud.

"Got him," Jai replied, his distain for Richard melting away with the task at hand.

"I think he might be our man; we should let him drop his load. I'll follow him and you go inside and get the merchandise."

"Sounds good," Jai answered as he watched the Mexican continue to load up the portable hand truck.

* * *

><p>"Have you seen these e-mails?" Arthur asked, his head was spinning, trying to calculate what to do next. There was no book or action plan written on this.<p>

"Not yet, my source saved the hard drive that they were on, he has it and several copies at various banks around the DC area," Auggie answered.

"Smart man, someone we know?" Joan thought out loud.

"Ask me again later," Auggie said with a slight smile in her direction, "I need to retrieve the key to one of the safe deposit boxes and get a hold of the drive before we can have anything definitive. It's a crashed hard drive, so it really depends on what caused the crash as to how much information I can retrieve."

"Get me the source's information and I'll have Jackson get the key," Joan told him.

"No, the source only trusts me right now, he's scared. He has a wife and kids to think about."

"Fine. I'm pulling you off the Oakton case. Have Barber run point with Annie and Jai."

"Do what you need to do, use whomever you need to use," Arthur said, "Just get that hard drive soon."

"Yes, sir," Auggie said standing up.

"But be careful, not only is this a highly volatile situation, but I've got another damned leak in the building," Arthur cautioned.

"I'll let you know as soon as I have it," Auggie told him as he clicked on his laser cane and started for the door.

* * *

><p>"May I help you sir?" the friendly FedEx clerk with a nametag that read 'Lacey' asked Jai as he walked in the entrance.<p>

"I really hope so," Jai answered smiling broadly and turning on the Wilcox charm that had gotten him this far in life. He pulled out an official looking badge, his NOC as a State Department employee was going to come in handy here. "I'm Jai Wilcox on special assignment for the Homeland Security Department. We believe that there are some packages that were just dropped off here that may be of interest to our department."

Lacey looked surprised and somewhat bewildered. "We haven't been that busy this afternoon. Just one of our regular customers dropped off items for his sister's store in Virginia."

"Regular customer?" Jai asked leaning on the counter flirting with her while spying the stack of boxes behind the desk.

"Yes, Mr. Garcia. He's been coming here for quite some time. He's a very good customer."

"Is Mr. Garcia a shorter gentlemen? Dark hair, graying at the temples?"

The clerk nodded.

"May I see one of his boxes?" Jai asked nicely.

"I wouldn't be breaking any laws, would I?" she asked.

"No, not really; I could get a warrant, but then we might have to shut down the store for a day or two," Jai lied.

"Okay, I suppose that you could take a look," Lacey said with a shrug as she picked up a package and set it on the desk for Jai to examine.

* * *

><p>"Mr. Anderson, so nice of you to call," Annie answered her phone cheerfully.<p>

"Annie, I need your help with something," the tone of Auggie's voice was serious, a tone that Annie had never heard in their nearly two years of working together.

"Okay, something to do with my current project? Is everything okay?"

"Yes, no, hell, I don't know. Just meet me at the coffee shop down the street from my apartment in an hour," Auggie answered.

"What about Helen?"

"I'll have someone keep an eye on the place and Eric is monitoring the feeds. This is more important."

"Auggie, you're scaring me," Annie said with concern. "What's going on?"

"I can't fully read you in right now, but I trust you. And I_ need_ you," Auggie explained, "One hour, the coffee shop. And bring your laptop." Auggie disconnected the line and pulled the cardboard scrap with the phone number out of his pocket along with his phone. Taking a deep breath, he turned the phone on and dialed.

* * *

><p>Joan and Arthur sat in silence, trying to fully take in the events of the last ten minutes. Arthur stared out the window of his office at the leaves swaying at the top of the trees; Joan was stared at her husband; both wished that they could be anywhere else but here at this moment.<p>

"Should we read anyone in? Steve Baylor? State, Secret Service, FBI? The President?" Joan finally asked.

"I'm not sure. This could be a false alarm and we could be the ones crying wolf," Arthur answered without looking away from the window. "They could think I'm making this all up because I'm trying to detract from the leak."

"Why would you make this up, why would anyone make this up?"

"People with morals wouldn't, but we all know that's not always been the case with this office. I have to live down the reputation of my predecessor."

"Henry, again. That bastard can interject himself into any situation, can't he?"

"Let's sit tight until Auggie gets the hard drive," Arthur told her as he pulled his gaze away from the calming trees outside.

* * *

><p>"What type of store does Mr. Garcia's sister have in Virginia?" Jai asked as he ran a knife along the taped seam of the cardboard box.<p>

"I don't know, he's never said, I think it's some sort of gift shop," Lacey replied taken in by Jai's charm, "But he sends an awful lot of stuff to her, he's in here a few times a week."

Jai opened the flaps of the box and removed the crumpled paper covering the contents. Peering inside, he found another small box, carefully taped shut. For a moment he wondered if he should call in the bomb squad or the real Homeland Security Department. He'd gotten this far; he needed to know what was inside the box. He slit open the smaller box to reveal radio components. "Does his sister's gift shop sell radio transmitters?" Jai asked as he turned one of the small components over in his hand. "I need to see the rest of those boxes."

* * *

><p>"I'm here and I'm confused," Annie stated as she plopped down in the seat across the booth from Auggie.<p>

"Did you bring you laptop?" Auggie asked with a sigh.

"You told me to, are you going to tell me what's going on?"

"I can't, not yet. Just please trust me. I need you to go to this address," he said handing her a small slip of paper, "Your laptop doesn't work, your friend Andy recommended the place, the owner is Scott. He will have a key for you, probably lying on the desk, palm it as inconspicuously as you can. Also, tell him you're new to the area and looking for a good bank. Pay attention to his answer," Auggie explained.

Annie looked at her best friend and co-worker for a moment, taking it all in. He looked genuinely worried and maybe a bit scared. This was a man that took even the most dangerous situations in stride and whatever was going on had him rattled. "Okay," she finally answered taking the paper from his hand. "What am I to do with the key once I get it?"

"Get it back to me at the office as soon as possible. And be very careful you're not followed, take three city buses and a cab, whatever it takes."

"Sounds serious."

"It is. More than I can tell you right now," Auggie answered. "Scott is expecting you."

Annie nodded even though he couldn't see her do it and reached out and touched his hand reassuringly before heading for the street.

* * *

><p>"Have you seen much of Arthur today?" Bill Davis asked Ken Jacobs as they passed each other in the hallway of the seventh floor of Langley. "Is he even in?"<p>

"I think so," Ken answered as he looked up from the file he was reading while he was walking. "I saw Auggie come out of his office about an hour and a half ago. He took off like he was on a mission."

"Hmmm, wonder what's up?"

"I don't know, what ever it is they're not talking about it, but I overheard a gal from travel saying that Jai is in Miami."

"With Dick Wilson's kid?" Bill said with a chuckle.

"I suppose," Ken looked back at his file and continued down the hall.

* * *

><p>Jai pulled out his cell phone and dialed a familiar number that he preferred not to remember. "Richard, I need you to call your father," Jai said as pushed open the door to the FedEx Ground office. "We need a real warrant for this place."<p>

"What did you find?" Richard asked.

"Radio components, lots of mini transmitters, the girl here says that our man sends packages to his sister's gift shop in Virginia. Did you get anything on the tail?"

"Small rundown house, nothing too promising," Richard answered. "I'll call Dad and get the warrant going with our bureau friends here, keep an eye on the place till we can get in."

* * *

><p>Annie stood outside the small storefront in McLean, it seemed like a nice enough place. The vinyl lettering on the windows and door read 'Computer RX.' She put on her exasperated female face and pushed open the door.<p>

The bespectacled man sitting at the small workstation in the back of the store looked up toward the sound of the small bell on the door tinkling. "May I help you?" he asked.

"I sure hope so," Annie said, purposely making her voice crack. "This thing just won't work." She pulled the laptop from its case. "Are you Scott?"

"Yes, ma'am," Scott Simpson answered her. If she was who he thought she was, they didn't have field agents like that when he was in the DPD.

"My friend Andy said you're the best at fixing these things." Annie set the laptop down on the desk.

"Let me take a look." Scott set a key that he was holding in his hand on the desk and swung the laptop around to face him. "Tell me what it was doing to make you so concerned."

"It turns on, but it just won't go anywhere," Annie answered spotting the key on the desk.

Scott powered on the laptop and it began to boot up. "This is going to take a few minutes," he said leaning back in his chair. "How do you know Andy?"

"I just started working with him; I just moved here from Baltimore. He's been showing me around the city." Annie was setting up the next move.

Scott knew exactly what she was doing. "So have you been here long?"

"Just a few weeks, I need to figure out where things are, dry cleaners, coffee places, a bank. Stuff like that."

"There's a great coffee place just around the corner; I'm addicted to their iced coffee," Scott offered as he began to fiddle with the computer, "My bank is across the street from the coffee place, the Bank First National. I've been banking with them for years."

"If you get this thing working I'll have to treat you to a coffee, thanks for the tip," Annie said with a smile as she watched Scott work.

Scott continued to work on the laptop for a few more minutes while Annie watched him, trying her hardest not to stare at the key on the desk.

"All fixed," Scott proclaimed.

"Really? It was that easy?"

"You had too many items on your start up menu," Scott swung the laptop around to face Annie. "Here let me show you."

Annie leaned forward on the desk, placing her left hand on top of the key as Scott showed her what was 'wrong' with her laptop.

* * *

><p>Liza Hearn stood in front of the massive mahogany door and rang the bell, it chimed like a church bell. The minute she rang the bell, she wished that she hadn't. A few moments later the door opened.<p>

"Miss Hearn, so nice of you to come."

Liza crossed the threshold into the marble tiled foyer. "I still don't know why I'm here."

"You're here because you're hungry and you want an exclusive to further your career," Henry Wilcox said, looking down his nose at her.

"I'm here because there's two sides to every story." Liza set her purse on the antique parlor table and followed Henry into the living room.

"And I have a story to tell." Henry settled into a leather chair.

"I see house arrest is treating you well," Liza said sitting on a velvet sofa across from the former DCS that was on trail for treason.

"The house part is here to stay, the arrest will go away shortly," Henry said with an arrogant tone in his voice, "Shall we begin?"

* * *

><p><em>As always, thanks to PatriciaLouise for her help, guidance and patience. <em>

_Thanks for reading. _

_-M_


	6. Chapter 6

It was funny, the central hallway at Langley never seemed so long as it did today, Annie held the key firmly in her left hand as she walked quickly down the hall toward the DPD offices. She had accomplished her mission and after taking two cabs and a city bus to her car parked outside the coffee shop near Auggie's apartment, she was certain she wasn't followed. Pulling open the heavy glass door she spotted Auggie walking into Joan's office. Hurriedly, she climbed the short flight of stairs to the entrance of Joan's office and knocked on the halfway closed door.

"Auggie, I have it…" she said as she pushed the door open.

"Thank god," Auggie said and sighed as he walked toward the sound of her voice.

"Any concerns during the exchange?" Joan asked.

"None, simple. Easy. Who is Scott?" Annie placed the key into Auggie's outstretched hand.

"Scott?" Joan inquired as Auggie took in a deep breath, "Is he your source?"

"_Annie _…"

"Sorry, I didn't know it was a secret. He seems like he knows how to play the game."

"He does because he used to work here," Auggie explained, "He ran Tech Ops before me. And yes, Joan he is the source. He's very scared and rightly so," He opened his watch and read the time, "It's ten of five; we'll have to wait until tomorrow to go to the bank. Which one did he tell you about?"

"Bank First National by his office," Annie answered.

Auggie turned toward his boss, "Want to check out a bank with me first thing tomorrow?"

"Me?" Joan asked.

"Circle of trust, Arthur said to be careful," Auggie replied, "We should lock this up overnight," Auggie held the key out to Joan and she took it from him, "And let Arthur know we have the key."

* * *

><p>The FDA office that doubled as the Miami station seemed so luxurious compared to the London station where Jai was stationed for nearly a year. If it weren't for Richard, he could get used to working out of a place like this. But it would always be Miami and Richard wasn't going anywhere. Jai pulled open the door to the office and walked confidently down the long hall to Richard's office. He had to look confident because he felt like a fool in the UPS Store uniform that had been so generously provided to him.<p>

"Hey, Jai," Richard greeted him through the open door, "Just checking the FedEx tracking numbers, our little packages are out on the truck for delivery."

"Did your friends at the bureau tech division fix them for us?" Jai asked as he sat in a chair across from Richard.

"Oh yeah, those babies won't even work in a transistor radio anymore," Richard said and laughed gleefully. "Looks like you're ready for prime time."

"I feel like I'm ready for Halloween," Jai said wryly.

Richard shoved a thin file folder across the desk to Jai, "Mike Murphy is your guy at the store, and his employees think you're looking at opening your own UPS store in Elizabeth City. Mike thinks you're on special assignment for the ATF on a drugs crackdown."

"Creative," Jai stated as he pocketed the forged ID from the ATF, "I'll text Annie and tell her to be on the lookout for our FedEx delivery in Oakton."

* * *

><p>Joan was nervous, she was a very highly trained field operative and she'd just been in the field not too long ago in Mexico City, but today she was nervous. This was a rather simple retrieval of intel, but it could be one of the most important assignments of her life. She fidgeted tirelessly in the backseat of the cab, drumming her fingers on her knee. Suddenly she felt a hand on top of hers.<p>

"Would you stop already," Auggie commanded as he grabbed her right hand. "We're just going to the bank to open a safe deposit box."

"A safe deposit box that might contain information about the future of our country," Joan said nervously.

"Breathe; take a deep breath; this is not that big of a deal. You've been through worse than this. We've been through worse," Auggie reassured her; it was for both of their benefit.

"We're here," Joan announced as the cab pulled to a stop in front of Bank First National.  
>"Ready for this Scott?"<p>

"As I'll ever be," Auggie answered as he opened the car door and unfurled his cane.

* * *

><p>Arthur could feel his blood beginning to boil as he watched the video file that Julie had just brought into him. He knew it was smart to watch Henry's mansion, but he really hadn't expected to see what was before him. He thought that he had gained Liza Hearn's trust and respect months ago, but it appeared that he hadn't. Ms. Hearn paid Henry Wilcox a visit yesterday evening. He was up to something; Wilcox was always up to something. Arthur reached for his phone and dialed.<p>

"Are you in DC?" he asked the voice on the other end of the line, "Good, usual meeting place in one hour. I have a little job for you."

* * *

><p>"Can I get you anything dear?" Helen's voice sang out from the kitchen as Annie watched the house across the street from them.<p>

Annie was watching the house, but she was thinking about Auggie and Joan's mission. She had tried to get Auggie to tell her what was going on last night when she gave him a ride home, she knew that he wanted to tell her but he couldn't.

"I'm good. Thank you Helen," Annie said as she stood up to stretch her legs, "You should go ahead and meet your friends for bridge. You don't need to stay here with me. I have plenty of friends around," She looked out the window the house next door to the subjects, a fellow CIA operative was painting the window trim.

"If you're sure?"

"I'm sure."

* * *

><p>"Mr. Jones, if you could follow me," the safe deposit box clerk said as she stood in front of Joan and Auggie in the waiting area.<p>

As he and Joan stood up, Auggie smiled a little at the last name, Scott hadn't turned in all of his cover identification when he left the DPD, which ironically, was a good thing. The safe deposit box couldn't be traced to anyone but Scott Jones of Bethesda. He was pretty sure there were at least two dozen Scott Jones' in Bethesda. Joan brushed her hand against Auggie's arm and he caught her elbow for sighted lead. "Thank you for getting us in this morning." Auggie told the clerk.

"It's our pleasure, Mr. Jones," the clerk replied as they entered the room with the safe deposit boxes, "We just need your key."

Auggie reached into his inner suit pocket and pulled out the key, handing it to Joan. Joan and the clerk inserted the keys into the lock and the door to the box swung open.

"You may review your box in here," the clerk directed them toward a small curtained area off of the main room.

"Thank you," Auggie answered as the curtain was drawn behind them.

Joan reached for the narrow lid of the box and swung it open.

"What do you see?" Auggie whispered.

"Not really sure, what does a hard drive look like?" Joan asked while peering into the box.

"Like this," Auggie said as he pulled a hard drive from his suit pocket.

"We have a hard drive," Joan removed it from the box and handed it to Auggie. Auggie placed it carefully in his inside suit pocket and handed the other hard drive to Joan.

"Put it back in just the way the other one was," Auggie told his boss.

"I've done this before, Auggie." Joan said with a little bit of a laugh as she closed the lid to the box.

"Who was nervous before?" Auggie joked catching her elbow, "We're still not home free."

"Don't remind me," Joan said and sighed deeply as they left the small enclosure.

* * *

><p>The UPS Store in the strip mall in Biscayne Bay was a sleepy little place; Jai wondered how Mike Murphy stayed in business. He had been at the store for nearly two hours and very little customer traffic had come through the doors. There was a few people using the copy machine and an older lady trying to send a monstrous stuffed giraffe to her granddaughter, but that was just about it.<p>

"Here comes Mr. Ebay," Ellen, one of the store clerks remarked as she saw a light blue minivan pull up in the parking lot.

"Mr. Ebay?" Jai looked up from the manual he was 'studying' to witness the man unloading numerous boxes from the back of his van into a child's wagon.

"Comes in here everyday about now, I think he stole that wagon from his kid," Ellen said clearing a space on the counter that would be filled with Mr. Ebay's packages in a few minutes. "Heck, I think he might have even sold his kid on eBay."

Mr. Ebay entered the store and Jai stood back and observed the transaction, this might be his guy.

* * *

><p>"How long until you can get the information off of it?" Joan asked Auggie as they entered the DPD office.<p>

"Depends, maybe an hour or two," Auggie answered as they walked toward his office door, he reached forward and touched the glass before running his hand down the door to the handle, "If it's as corrupted as I think it might be, it could be a little longer."

"We need to know if this threat is credible before we read anyone else in."

"Joan …." Auggie scolded her, "I know what I'm doing."

"I know, it's just …"

"It's just going to take a while," Auggie ghosted his hand along the edge of his desk while walking toward his chair; he found his chair and pulled it out to sit down, "Go tell Arthur that it's in the building and I'm working on it."

Joan watched Auggie turn on his computer and remove the hard drive from the safety of his inner suit pocket.

"Watching me won't make this process go any faster," he said in a sarcastically joking manner.

Joan sighed and turned on her heel and headed toward the door.

* * *

><p>Annie watched the FedEx truck rumble through the neighborhood, dropping it's cargo at various homes surrounding Pine Street. She knew the truck would be stopping in front of the house across the street at any moment. Out of the corner of her eye she spotted the mini-blinds lifting up in the front window of the house across the street. She wasn't the only one waiting for the FedEx delivery. Annie smiled to herself knowing that Jai and his team in Miami had altered the contents of the delivery to make it useless for the recipient. She pulled out her cell phone and dialed.<p>

"Employment office, this is Eric."

"Hey, it's Amy. I just wanted to let you know that they are being delivered shortly." Annie informed Barber.

"I should probably record the delivery," Barber said as he pulled up the video feed of the house that was being recorded from a blue bird on Helen's windowsill.

"Might be a good idea."

"On it," Barber disconnected the phone as Annie watched the FedEx truck rumble down the street.

* * *

><p>The counter of the UPS Store was piled about three feet high with packages of various sizes and weights. Jai was astounded how a quiet day could get so busy in a matter of moments.<p>

"No wonder why he uses the wagon," Jai commented as he began to move the boxes off the counter to the floor behind the counter, "He comes in everyday with this many packages?"

"This is nothing," Ellen said cheerfully. "You should see what he brings in at Christmas. I think he single handedly help us make our goal last year."

"We could all use customers like that," Jai said as he read each ship to address as he stacked the items on the floor. None of them were going to Oakton, Virginia. Mr. Ebay wasn't their guy.

* * *

><p>David Westcott rarely ventured to the first floor offices of Langley; he knew that the floor was primarily occupied by the DPD and he discovered a long time ago that staying out to the way of his boss's wife's division was usually in his best interest. Today he needed to pay the DPD offices a visit; he needed some help.<p>

"Hey, Eric, I was hoping that I could borrow you for a few hours," David said as he approached Eric Barber in the exterior offices of the Tech Ops department.

Eric was lost in his project and didn't hear David initially, after a moment of David staring over his shoulder, he looked up and was startled to see the Director of European Operations standing next to him. "Mr. Westcott, I'm sorry I didn't see you," he said as he scrambled to put the video feed into his task bar.

"What are you working on?" David asked.

"Helping Auggie with a project," Eric answered looking up at him, "What can I do for you?"

"I wanted to borrow you for a few hours, with Auggie's permission of course, I need some help with the Venice project you worked on last month."

Eric sighed, "I'm sorry, I can't. Auggie's got something else going on and he really needs me on this. Can it wait?"

"Not really, but I suppose it will have to. When do you think you'll be free?"

"A day or two," Eric guessed, he had no idea how long he would be helping Auggie with this.

"Okay, come see me when you can." David said with resignation.

* * *

><p>Auggie pulled the case off of the slave computer he used for searching hard drives and felt inside for the slot to insert the hard drive. Skillfully he slid it into its proper place and powered up the computer. Once the system ran its check he could begin to search the directories for the e-mails that Scott found. He cursed himself for not asking Scott which quadrant of the hard drive the information was on; but not knowing would only slow him down by a few minutes. He nervously drummed the desk with his fingers while the computer did its thing; he was moments away from what could be the biggest discovery of his career.<p>

* * *

><p>"Out slumming?" Bill Davis said sarcastically as he walked past David leaving the DPD offices.<p>

"No, official business." David fell into step with his fellow director. "I wanted to borrow Barber for some help on a project, but he said he was knee deep in something big for Anderson."

"Really?" Bill asked with surprise, "Joan didn't mention any major missions in our directors meeting."

"Must have just come up." David punched the elevator button to head back up to the executive suite, the doors opened and David stepped on the car, "Coming?"

"Nah, got something I need to take care of." Bill begged off and began to walk hurriedly down the hallway.

* * *

><p>A familiar white Oldsmobile station wagon pulled up in front of the UPS Store, Jai spotted it immediately. He also spotted the driver of the car; it was Mr. Garcia from the FedEx place yesterday. "Who's this?" He asked Ellen.<p>

"Mr. Rodriguez. Comes in a few times a week with things for his aunt up in Virginia. He's a very nice man."

"Sounds like you know quite a bit about your regular customers."

"Customers make us who we are and keep us in business. It's easy to get to know them, I'm sure when you open your store, you'll find the same thing," Ellen said with an easy smile. "Good to see you Mr. Rodriguez."

* * *

><p>"The eagle has landed," Annie told Barber as the FedEx truck pulled away from the curb, "See if you can catch her."<p>

"I don't think she's going to approve of the delivery," Eric commented.

"Let's hope it brings additional people to the table, 'cause this hunt is getting a little boring." Annie said. "Is Mr. Anderson in today?"

"Mr. Anderson just got back from an errand with his assistant Joan. He's been busy since he got back."

Annie leaned back in the chair she was sitting in; she wanted so much to be in the office, helping Auggie with whatever he was working on. "Would you tell him to call me if he needs me to come in?" Annie leaned forward again, watching the occupant of the house bring the packages inside.

"Absolutely, I see we have activity."

* * *

><p>"Mike?" Jai said as he knocked on the door of the UPS Store manager's office.<p>

Mike Murphy looked up from the spreadsheet on his monitor, "Hello Jack, has Ellen been helpful?"

Jai walked into the office and leaned against a steel gray metal file cabinet. "What do you know about Mr. Rodriguez?"

"Not much, he seems like a straight forward guy, sending stuff to a relative up in the DC area. Why?"

"Because I need to seize the packages he just brought in, I think he might be connected to what were investigating."

* * *

><p>Liza Hearn sat on the bench in the park where she met Arthur Campbell some six months ago. She hoped by coming to the place where the two of them had first crossed swords she might come to some clarity about the situation in front of her. Henry had given her some interesting information yesterday evening. It was a scathing portrayal of the CIA as run by Arthur and so much more, but she couldn't help wonder if Henry had an ulterior motive. Henry was a man against the ropes; with his treason trial nearing its halfway point. She pulled out her notes and read them one more time; usually she knew what she wanted and how to get it. Today, she wasn't so sure.<p>

* * *

><p>Every so often, Auggie cursed the fact that he no longer had his sight. Sometimes it was for something simple, like wanting to read a newspaper headline or see something on the television. On this day, being able to see would cut down the time he needed to examine the information on the hard drive that Scott had saved for him. Scanning the directory on the monitor before him would be so much easier with eyes than waiting for the braille translation to his refreshable braille display. The braille letters flowed beneath his fingertips at a rapid pace as he processed the information. Suddenly what he was looking for appeared. Scott was right; there were a bunch of e-mails left on the crashed hard drive.<p>

"How's it going?"

Auggie jumped a little, he was so lost in what he was doing that he hadn't heard the click of Joan's heels on the floor behind him, "Sorry, I was really concentrating."

Joan grabbed a chair from across the room and pulled it up next to Auggie, "Find anything yet?"

"I just ran across the e-mails, I think these are what we're looking for," Auggie said as he pulled up an e-mail.

Joan leaned over his shoulder and read the e-mail on the screen as Auggie read the same information on the refreshable braille display. Auggie finished reading a few moments before Joan did and turned his gaze toward her. Joan finished reading and looked up at Auggie, sometimes she swore he could see her. But today, she saw something else in his eyes; fear.

"Can you print a few of these out?" Joan asked, her voice shaking a bit, "I need to give Arthur a heads up." She stood up and thoughtfully pushed the chair back into place, "And get some sort of protective detail on Scott and his family."

"This is big," Auggie said simply, yet forcefully.

"Probably the biggest thing we'll ever come across, meet me in Arthur's office in ten minutes."

Auggie took a deep breath as he heard the door slide shut behind Joan. This was the second time he wished he could see today, he wanted to know if Joan looked as scared as he felt.

* * *

><p><em>Note: As always, thanks to PatriciaLouise for her help.<em>

_Thanks for reading and reviews are always appreciated. _

_M_


	7. Chapter 7

_Note: Patricia Louise looked it over and made some additions and subtractions. I thank her for all of her assistance._

* * *

><p>Auggie slid his chair back and reached around to his right to find the ink printer on the table behind him. He had sent several of the e-mails in question to both the embosser in the server room and the ink printer he kept for his staff in his office. While the print process was completing, he had taken a few moments to read several of the messages. They were scary and confusing all at the same time. At this point, all he had was the text of each e-mail. He would have to delve further into the hard drive to find the root directories to discover where they were sent from and who received them. First, they had to analyze the contents of the messages to determine the level of threat. He grasped the printed documents and ran his fingertips across them, feeling for the familiar raised text of laser printing. Although he couldn't read them, he knew the documents had printed. With purpose, he stood up and grabbed his laser cane and headed toward the door of his office.<p>

"Eric?" he asked while sliding the door open.

"Yeah, boss?" Eric Barber responded from his desk in the outer office of Tech Ops.

"Keep an eye on things in Oakton."

"Will, do."

Auggie began to walk down the hall, ghosting his right hand along the glass wall. "And see if you can find Stu, I know he's taking a few days off, but I might need his help on something," Auggie said over his shoulder as he ducked into the server room to retrieve the braille documents from the embosser.

* * *

><p>"Are you sure you don't need to call anyone in on this?" Mike Murphy asked Jai as they carried a few of the boxes into the small break room in the back of the UPS Store.<p>

"I've already phoned it in," Jai told him. "It's probably better if you don't stay for this." Jai removed a box cutter from his pants pocket and sliced the seam of the box.

"Should I? He dropped them in my store."

"It's better if you don't, we don't want you implicated in any part of this investigation," Jai said telling a little white lie.

Mike shrugged his shoulders and pulled the door closed behind him. As soon as the door shut, Jai lifted the flaps of the box and rummaged through the packaging inside. He pulled out a small green vase that looked like it was hand made; he set it on the counter and reached back inside the box, finding another vase. He lifted it up to the light and looked at the markings on the bottom, finding nothing unusual. Then he tossed it lightly in his hands, feeling the weight of the object. It was much too heavy for its size. He pulled a small penlight from his pocket and peered inside. "Creative, Mr. Rodriguez, or who ever you are."

* * *

><p>"Julie, is he in with anybody?" Joan asked Arthur's assistant as she pulled open the glass doors of the executive suite.<p>

"He's not even in," Julie answered looking up from her computer monitor, "said something about a last minute meeting and took off about an hour ago."

"You're kidding me, right?" Joan was dumbfounded, Arthur knew that Auggie was working on the hard drive and he took off.

"He said he'd be back in an hour or so, you can wait inside if you like," Julie offered.

Joan glared at Julie for a moment, she wasn't mad at the pretty redhead, she was angry at her husband. "Fine, Auggie should be a few minutes behind me. Would you let him on in? I thought Arthur knew we were coming."

* * *

><p>Every DCS had one agent that helped him with projects; one agent that walked the thin line between protocol and law breaking to get the job done; one agent that he could count on for something off the books. Ben Mercer was Arthur's rouge agent and he loved Ben Mercer's style.<p>

"I know you used to be Henry's guy, but you can't be Henry's guy anymore if you do this for me," Arthur told Ben.

Ben stared out the window of the black BMW sitting in a parking lot at Rockaway Park and contemplated what Arthur had asked him to do for a moment. "I can be your guy."

"Once you do this, you can't go back."

"There's lots of stuff that I've done that I can't come back from," Ben said and laughed. "This is child's play."

"Good." Arthur was relived. "Here's her picture; do what you need to do and don't…"

"Get caught," Ben finished for his boss. "I'm smarter than that. I'll be in touch." Ben pushed open the door and got out of the car.

* * *

><p>"Hey, Jai, how's Miami?" Annie asked.<p>

"Hot, sunny, annoying," Jai answered as he observed Richard Wilson, Jr. talking to the staff of the UPS Store. "What's going on there?"

"The delivery you intercepted arrived a few hours ago, they pulled it inside, a few men just arrived about twenty minutes ago; Barber is running facial recognition on them. Whatsha got?"

"Imports. Vases, statues stuff like that." Jai picked a statue of an elephant up from the table and looked inside the broken leg to the interior of the statue. "Filled with C4."

"C4?" Annie's voice cracked.

"Looks like the detonators arrived in Oakton earlier today and I've got the bombs here."

"Geez, what are we gonna do?"

"Miami station has pulled in the ATF and FBI; this thing got too big to keep under wraps."

"Joan's gonna be pissed."

"She would be if I could get her to return a call," Jai said in a slightly whiny voice. "What is going on up there?"

"Nothing that I've been told," Annie answered. It wasn't a complete lie; they still hadn't told her what was going on.

"If you talk to Joan or Auggie, have them call me."

* * *

><p>"These are unbelievable," Joan said as she looked up from reading the fourth e-mail that Auggie had printed out. "It's actionable; Scott was right."<p>

Auggie continued to read the braille document on the conference table in front of him. "I know that the Secret Service names are not exactly secret, but who else knew that Chip Langston was called Bucky?"

"The guy was a professor at the University of Wisconsin, I'm guessing everyone called him Bucky at some point," Joan surmised. "Plus he's a nasty little rodent of a man, so that might come into play."

Auggie let out a laugh at this quip. Considering the seriousness of the situation; they both needed a little laugh.

"What's so funny?" Arthur asked as he walked into his office and closed the door.

"Your wife was calling Chip Langston a nasty little rodent," Auggie explained.

Arthur pulled out a chair and picked up the documents that Joan had pushed in his direction. "I agree, but that stays in this room. What do we have here?"

"This is a sample of the e-mails that were on the hard drive. Scott was right. If you read between the lines, there is something there," Auggie told the DCS.

Arthur scanned the pages while Joan watched his face. "Son of a bitch," Arthur said with a sigh, "How many more are there?"

"Maybe twenty; the hard drive is in pretty bad shape," Auggie answered.

* * *

><p>Investigative reporters are taught to be sneaky and observant; therefore Ben was surprised that Liza Hearn had not spotted him watching her from his parked car on the street near the café. She was enjoying a leisurely lunch while reviewing notes in her reporter's notebook; undoubtedly from her meeting with Henry Wilcox the previous evening. Ben had only been following her for an hour or so and she seemed pretty approachable. He would continue to observe for a few more hours and then make his move.<p>

* * *

><p>It was bad enough that Jai had to be in Miami with the evil spawn's son, but his day was about to go from bad to worse; the resident evil of the FBI had arrived in the sunshine state and he was talking to his son in the retail area of the store. Jai took a deep breath and collected his emotions before heading out of the back office; this was so much easier when his father was little Dicky's boss.<p>

"Dick Wilson, surprised you made the trip down here," Jai said as he extended his hand to the Director of the FBI. "I think Richard and I could've handled it."

"Jai Wilcox." Dick returned the handshake. "How's your father doing?"

Jai bristled at the mention of his father; once again it took a matter of seconds for a Wilson to rub in the fact that Henry was on trial for treason. "Doing alright, all things considered. Shall I read you in?" Jai asked.

* * *

><p>Arthur stood up and paced slowly to the window overlooking the Langley campus. Once again, the beauty of the scenery did not provide him with any solace or clarity. "I was afraid of this," he finally said.<p>

"Afraid?" Joan and Auggie asked in unison.

"That this would be actionable and I have a god damned leak in the building. Auggie, go search that hard drive and print the rest of the documents and meet me back here as soon as possible."

Auggie nodded and stood up. Clicking on his laser cane, he headed toward the door. Arthur followed Auggie toward the door and stepped outside into the outer office with Julie. Julie looked at him curiously as he waited for the heavy glass door to close behind Auggie.

"Julie, get Steve Baylor on the phone, tell him we need to meet with him as soon as possible," Arthur told his assistant.

"Steve usually likes you to go there," Julie reminded him.

"I know, but tell him what I have is too sensitive to leave the building at this time. And see where Roger Dunbar is, we might need to meet with him too."

"Roger Dunbar? I don't even know if I have his number," Julie replied as she picked up the phone to call Steve Baylor's office.

"Call Marlene at the White House, she'll know how to reach him."

Julie nodded as the secretary to the Director of National Intelligence answered the other end of the line. "Hey, Rachel, it's Julie, Arthur needs to meet with Steve…."

* * *

><p>"Eric, tell me that your gee wiz facial recognition program came through for us this time," Annie told Barber.<p>

"My gee wiz facial recognition program came through," Eric answered. "Couple of Middle Eastern badasses. We're gonna have to figure out how they got into the country; they've been on the terrorism watch list since 2006."

"You're kidding me," Annie said and sighed. "What does Auggie think about this."

"Don't know. He just got back and went straight to his office and closed the door. Something is up, he asked me to call in Stu," Eric offered. "So what's the protocol on this?"

"I wish I knew, let me read Jai in and I'll get back to you," Annie said as she ended the call. She really needed Auggie right now.

* * *

><p>Jai had patiently read in the Director of the FBI on their discoveries in Miami and in Oakton. He knew that Dick Wilson was the type of director that liked having every 'T' crossed and 'I' dotted and didn't much care for the mystery of intelligence gathering.<p>

"You got this all from a walk-in at Langley?" Dick asked raising his eyebrow.

"It took a little while to put the pieces together, but yes. We're trying to ascertain the identities of the men who entered the subject house in Oakton. Once we have that we should be ready to move in," Jai told him.

"Is Arthur aware of this?" Dick asked; he was a more hands on kind of guy than his counterpart at the CIA.

"He is, he has given us the leeway to take care of this."

"Fine then, but I want to question Mr. Garcia or Rodriguez, or whatever his name is," Dick ordered.

Jai closed his eyes and drew in a breath of air; Dick Wilson was a control freak, just like his irritating son. "Richard's team is picking him up right now; you might want to head to the local Bureau office."

Dick started for the door. "You keep an eye on things here; I want it all inventoried before it's loaded up."

"That goes without saying."

"Oh and Jai, be sure to say hi to your father for me," Dick remarked before closing the door behind him.

Jai stood in silence for a moment; seething; Wilson just couldn't resist taking one more stab at his father.

* * *

><p>Auggie sat in the relative silence of his office; the only sound was the whirring of the laser printer on the table behind him. Over the course of the last half hour, he had found another twenty-three e-mails detailing the sinister plans of the unknown group. He knew that the embosser would take considerably more time to print out his copies than the laser printer, so he leaned back in his chair and contemplated the events of the past twenty-four hours. The ringing of his desk phone brought him back to the present.<p>

"Anderson," he answered it robotically.

"Auggie," the voice on the other end of the line was that of his boss, "Steve Baylor will be here in about twenty minutes. Are you making progress?"

"Not even trying to find the root directories yet; there's twenty-three more, they should be done printing in about ten. I'll get up there as soon as I can."

* * *

><p>"Really? How did they get through being on the watch list?" Jai asked Annie as he sat on the edge of the desk in the back office of the UPS store.<p>

"No idea," Annie replied. "What do we do now?"

"What does Joan say?"

"Eric says she's been up with Arthur for the better part of the day. We might have to figure this one out on our own. …" Annie trailed off as she watched a black sedan pull up across the street from Helen's.

"What's going on?" Jai asked somewhat concerned.

"Jai, have you told anyone else about this outside of the Miami station and the FBI?" Annie questioned.

"No, why?"

"Because we have another car pulling up to the house. Let me get back to you," Annie said as she disconnected the phone.

* * *

><p>For a seasoned covert operative, Liza Hearn was an easy mark. Ben had watched her for nearly the whole day and she was nothing if not methodical and predictable in her behavior. She had gone back to the Recorder's office shortly after her lunch break at the coffee shop. A few hours later she left the building for what looked like an interview; on the way back she stopped at the same coffee shop and parked in the same spot when she returned to the office. Ben was pretty certain that her day tomorrow would be the same as today. He didn't have time to wait for a pattern to develop; he needed results quickly. Liza parked her car on the street and walked into Allen's Pub in Georgetown. Figures she would hang out at the place that everyone suspected was a CIA hangout. Ben got out of his car and walked across the street to Allen's. He hoped that no one would recognize him anymore.<p>

* * *

><p>"Are you seeing what I'm seeing?" Annie asked Eric Barber as soon as he answered the phone.<p>

"I am," Eric said; he was dumbfounded by what was on the screen in front of him.

"Are you recording?" Annie asked rhetorically.

"Of course."

"What in the hell is a local LEO doing walking into our investigation?"

"That's a damn good question."

"Keep recording, I don't think he knows we're here."

* * *

><p>Julie Donovan pushed open the massive wooden door to the DCS office and allowed the visitor to pass. "Arthur, Mr. Baylor is here," she said simply so as to warn her boss who was deep in thought reading the contents of a file on the conference table.<p>

Arthur looked up. "Steve. Thanks for coming on such short notice," he said standing up and extending his hand to his boss.

"Did I have much of a choice? Rachel told me that Julie sounded really concerned." Steve shook Arthur's hand. "Joan, nice to see you again."

Arthur motioned to the chair across from him and Steve took a seat, "So what is this all about?" Steven asked.

"We had a CivOb come in yesterday and we're pretty concerned about what we've discovered. There seems to be a plot out there to kill the dragon and put the badger in power," Arthur explained.

"That's a pretty serious accusation, are you sure about this?" Steve asked as he picked up a copy of an e-mail that Arthur shoved across the desk to him.

Steve read the document in silence for a moment and looked up at Joan and Arthur, "Damn, how many of these are there?"

"Nearly thirty, I have my Tech Ops director printing the rest of them out right now," Joan explained as the door to the office opened, the three of them looked up to see Auggie walking through the door, "Here he is now."

* * *

><p>Ben's worst fear had come true; the bartender behind the bar recognized him from his days as an operative stationed at Langley. The bartender nearly greeted him, but Ben shot him a look that said 'don't.' He scanned the bar and found Liza sitting at the end of the bar chatting with another woman. He was good at what he did and he knew how to use his assets; sitting on the stool next to Liza's friend, he ordered himself a drink.<p>

* * *

><p>"Can you get a look at the plate?" Eric asked Annie as she shifted from the living room window to the kitchen window.<p>

"Trying to get a better view," Annie answered as she leaned on the kitchen sink and watched the plain-clothes officer approach the front door. "Okay, Virginia government plate, YMF 495."

"Give me a sec." Eric quickly pulled up a database and entered it into the system. "Got it. Checked out to a police detective from Oakton this morning."

* * *

><p>"Auggie, Steve Baylor has joined us," Joan said as she caught his arm, "Steve, this is my head of Tech Ops, Auggie Anderson."<p>

Steve extended his hand toward Auggie and he was momentarily confused when Auggie didn't return the Director of National Intelligence's greeting.

"Handshake Auggie," Joan whispered in his ear.

"Nice to meet you again Mr. Baylor." Auggie stuck his hand out so that Steve could shake it and then took a few steps toward where the he thought the conference table was located. He reached out and found the edge of the table and set the pile of paper on it. "Did Joan and Arthur read you in?"

"We just started," Joan said as the four of them sat down.

"I haven't read them all yet, but I think I have a good handle on what's going on," Auggie started. "We have an on going e-mail conversation between three different parties: Slayer63, Yatzi and Big Bad Wolf." Auggie slid the print copies to his right so Joan could distribute them to Arthur and Steve.

"Slayer63?" Steve questioned.

"User names." Auggie continued, "Slayer63 seems to be the leader of the operation. Yatzi has pretty good insight into the dragon's movement, schedule and security protocols; Big Bad Wolf seems like he's the muscle, coming up with various ways to kill the dragon. Then there's the badger."

"But we haven't used those Secret Service names since 2009," Steve commented while scanning an e-mail.

"Exactly, so this may not raise too many red flags in the intelligence community. But we all believe that there is something going on," Arthur stated.

"Someone out there with old Secret Service information is part of this conspiracy," Auggie added. "I'm guessing it's Yatzi."

"How do we find out who this Yatzi is?" Steve asked.

"All of this information is on a hard drive that's in pretty bad shape; hopefully my team can pull additional clues from it," Auggie oversimplified the next step.

"The last message was five days ago, about the time the hard drive came into Scott's… the civilian's possession, is there anyway we can hack into the e-mail account?" Joan asked while flipping through the papers.

"I've called in Stu, he's pretty good at that," Auggie answered.

"In the meantime we need to warn the Secret Service about this threat." Arthur stood up and walked toward the door and opened it. "Julie, get Roger Dunbar on the phone and have him come over here."

"When?" Julie asked from the outer office.

"Yesterday," Arthur said as he closed the door.

* * *

><p>Annie watched as the Oakton police detective's car pulled away from the curb. Nothing he did raised any suspicions in her mind, but she wanted to be sure, "Can you run your gee wiz facial recognition on him too?" she asked Barber.<p>

"Already on it," Eric answered as he shoved a potato chip in his mouth.

"Hang on, Jai's on the other line," Annie told him as she switched over to Jai's call.

"What's going on?" Jai asked.

"Just the local police stopping by, I don't think it's anything."

"Have you talked to Joan or Auggie yet?"

"Nope. You?"

"You got the essence of Auggie's plan didn't you?" Jai's mind was whirling, "This is moving too fast, we're going to have to go it alone."

Annie knew the operation was coming to this and she was glad that Jai was the one taking charge, "What do I do here?"

"Nothing; let me talk to a few people and make some calls."

* * *

><p>Ben walked out of the door satisfied with himself; he hadn't lost his touch. He looked down at the small notebook in his hand, Liza wouldn't realize that it was gone until after he'd made a copy of it at the Kinko's down the street. Then he'd return to the bar and drop it on the floor next to where she was still sitting with her friend. She would never be the wiser. Little projects like this were fun.<p>

* * *

><p>Jai had been waiting for an opportunity like this for quite a while. The chance to run his own op, even it was Auggie's idea, was exactly what he needed to do to catch the attention of the seventh floor. Then and only then, he would be able to get out of the holding pattern he'd been in since he returned from London.<p>

"Richard," he called to the Miami station chief who was still in the retail area of the UPS Store.

"Yeah, Jai?" Richard said walking toward him.

"I need your help with something. I also need your father's help," Jai began as Richard walked in the office and Jai closed the door behind him.

"Anything," Richard could tell by the look on Jai's face that this was serious.

"We need to do a little bait and switch, you up for it?"

* * *

><p>Julie knocked on the door of the DCS office; three knocks meant that she had information that Arthur was looking for.<p>

"Come in Julie," Arthur called from his spot at the conference table.

Julie opened the door slowly, "Roger Dunbar will be here in less than an hour; can I get you anything?"

"Yeah, some fresh coffee," Arthur answered.

"And some Rolaids and Jack Daniels," Steve Baylor added.

Julie looked at the men somewhat confused.

"He's kidding. Thanks Julie." Arthur winked at her as she closed the door.

"Hell of a job Anderson," Steve said as he continued to look over the documents. "Hell of a job."

"Thank you, sir, but this wasn't all my doing," Auggie said sheepishly. He was still scared of what all this might mean to the CIA and the future of the country.

"No, but you were smart enough to bring it to our attention," Arthur told him.

"Take the compliment Auggie," Joan said as she reached over and patted his hand.

"I think we're all in agreement here," Arthur stated as he leaned back in the conference table chair. "This is big. Bigger than all of us. Someone wants to kill the President of the United States – the guy the Secret Service used to call the dragon. For some reason they want Chip Langston to assume the Presidency. We have to figure out whom, when and why. We've got a huge and daunting road ahead of us. Are we ready for it?"

* * *

><p><em>So now you know who the dragon and badger are. Someone is out to kill the President. Can Auggie and the team stop them in time? And there's still a leak at Langley. There is a bad moon on on the rise! <em>

_Thanks for reading and reviews are always appreciated._

_-M_


	8. Chapter 8

_Thanks to PatriciaLouise for taking a look at this before public consumption. As always, her suggestions make for a better chapter. However, I take full credit for any punctuation errors. _

* * *

><p>Stu Vaughan enjoyed his work at the CIA, despite the fact that it wasn't what he intended to do with his career when he graduated from Brown a little over three years ago. His friends always tried to talk him into doing unsavory things with his computer abilities, but his sense of right and wrong led him to the CIA. But that line between right and wrong was blurry when you worked for the CIA. The fact that his boss was calling him in when he had vacation days scheduled told him that Auggie needed his help with something; something really important. And something a bit blurry.<p>

"Hey Eric..." Stu said as he strolled into the Tech Ops area of the DPD.

Eric set down the sandwich that he was eating and swiveled his chair around, "Hey Stu, so sorry I had to call you. Auggie said that he needed you."

"What's going on?" Stu asked as he looked over Eric's shoulder to see the video feed of the Oakton neighborhood.

"Oh, this?" Eric motioned to the monitor, "this has nothing to do with that," he motioned to Auggie deep in thought inside his office with the door pulled shut, his brow furrowed in concentration.

"How long has he been like that?"

"A few hours, he came down from 7th and went right in there and closed the door." Eric checked the monitor and took another bite of sandwich. "Whatever is going on is big. I've never seen him like this. Joan is all wrapped up in it too. I heard that Steve Baylor was in the building."

"Big."

"Huge." Eric turned back to his computer monitor as Stu slid open the door to Auggie's office.

* * *

><p>As a field agent for the Secret Service, Roger Dunbar had protected the Speaker of the House, a presidential candidate, two presidents and now he had led the Secret Service through this presidential administration. The one thing that he had not experienced during his long career was an attempt or plot on the President's life. That was until today. He leaned back in the conference chair in the Director of Clandestine Services office at Langley and took it all in. He looked to the DCS sitting across from him, to the DPD Director, to the DNI sitting next to him.<p>

"You got all this from a CivOb?" he asked setting the printed e-mails on the table in front of him, "How many civilians know the old Secret Service names for POTUS and VPOTUS?"

"This person is now a civilian," Joan tried to explain without revealing who had given them the information. "He wishes to keep his distance for obvious reasons."

"Impressive. We might have caught this just in time," Roger told the group, "This one is accurate," he continued, waving a printed e-mail, "To the point of scary. He was in Columbus on September 23rd. I didn't like that venue, not one bit, but Corvette wouldn't change it. He wants to be with the people, rolling up his sleeves. The People's President."

"I assume we need to keep this one quiet if we have any chance of catching Slayer63 and his friends," Steve Baylor stated the obvious.

"What I really want to know is who is Yatzi? He has real insight into how my team works," Roger answered.

"We've got our best man on the job," Arthur offered.

"Auggie and his team will follow the cyber trail to the end of the earth," Joan continued the thought.

"He's a Special Forces guy, he'll do that if necessary," Arthur said.

"Let's hope he doesn't have to," Roger leaned forward and grabbed the e-mails to read them again.

* * *

><p>Annie watched the relative quiet of the house across the street from Helen's. After the men from the terrorism watch list arrived, nothing much new had happened. She was pretty sure they were anxiously awaiting the shipment that Jai was sitting on in Miami. The two of them understood the basics of Auggie's plan, but it was always so much easier with him in her ear instead of Barber. Not that Eric was a bad guy; he just wasn't Auggie. No one was. Annie's ringing cell phone interrupted her thoughts.<p>

"Hey Jai." She answered the phone a bit too cheerily.

"Hey, anything new?"

"Nothing. How about Miami?"

"On the plane awaiting take off," Jai answered.

"Are we ready for this?"

"Dick Wilson was very cooperative; I think we can do this without anyone knowing what hit them."

"I sure hope so."

"Me too," Jai said and sighed, he hoped Arthur would apprecaite his efforts when all was said and done.

* * *

><p>After working for Auggie for nearly three years, Stu knew that Auggie hated to be startled, but he was so deep into whatever he was working on, Stu didn't know how to let him know that he was there without startling him. Stu slid the door shut behind him with a loud thud and moved his chair noisily, hoping that Auggie would hear him. He did.<p>

"Stu, is that you?" Auggie asked as he pulled his headphones down to let them rest around his neck.

"Yep. What can I do for you, boss?" Stu walked over to stand next to Auggie.

Auggie sighed, he was glad to have Stu to help him with this project. He reached for a piece of paper on his desk and the seldom-used pen. He marked the spot on the paper with his index finger, while writing a quick note for Stu. "I can't read you in completely yet, but I need you to hack into this e-mail account." Auggie handed him the slip of paper.

"Who said I could hack into an e-mail account?" Stu said wryly while taking the paper from his boss.

"Stu ..." Auggie raised his eyebrow at his subordinate.

"Got it. What am I looking for?" Stu settled into his chair and turned on his computer.

"Just get into the account; we want any communication from the last five days."

* * *

><p>Bill Davis knew that there was something going on; something that was important enough to bring both Steve Baylor and Roger Dunbar into Langley. Whatever it was, Arthur was being tight-lipped about it. He wasn't reading in his management team on the operation. And whatever it was, it was coming out of the DPD. Figures that Arthur's wife would be involved in the operation. He always gave her preferential treatment. Bill also knew that Eric Barber was busy on something, but he still stopped by the DPD to get an update on the project.<p>

"Mr. Barber." Bill greeted the Tech Op when he entered the DPD.

Eric put his video feed in the task bar and turned his chair toward the Director of South American Operations. "Hello Mr. Davis, what can I do for you today?"

Bill cursed silently to himself that Eric was smart enough to put whatever he was working on out of the sight of someone who was not read in on the operation. That damn Anderson had trained him well. "I was looking for that file on the code you were working on."

"Oh, I thought that was a 'C' priority project, I haven't gotten too far on it," Eric said with a sigh, Davis wasn't his boss, but he hated to disappoint anyone from the 7th floor. He dug through the files on his messy desk to reveal the one that Davis was interested in., "You can take a look at what I have so far if you want," he said holding out the file to Bill.

Bill took the file and put it under his arm. "Thanks, I'll have it back to you soon," he said as he glanced in Auggie's office, "Anderson looks like he's got a hell of a project."

Eric looked over his shoulder at Auggie and Stu deep in discussion, "Wouldn't know for sure, sir."

"I'll let you get back at it," Bill said and sighed in resignation. He wasn't getting any new information right now.

* * *

><p>"Damn," Stu said under his breath, "I'm out of practice." He turned his chair and saw what Auggie was working on, "Are those root directories?"<p>

Auggie was deep in thought reading the information that was being conveyed to his refreshable braille display. "Yep," he answered absent-mindedly.

"If you can get into the root directory, why do you need the e-mail account?"

Auggie stopped for a moment and turned toward Stu, "I need both, I need to know where the e-mail originated and I need to find out what they've been talking about since we got the information. Once we get these pieces the work has just begun. You didn't have anything big planned for the next few days, did you?"

Stu really didn't have any plans, he was just taking a few days off, "Nothing I couldn't change."

"Good, keep at it." Auggie stated as he turned his attention back to the information under his fingertips.

* * *

><p>Ben tucked the small reporter's notebook in the waistband of his jeans and pulled his shirt down over it as he walked down the sidewalk toward Allen's Tavern. Part of him wanted Liza to still be sitting at the bar, another part of him wanted her to be gone and he could just leave the notebook on the floor. Taking a deep breath, he pulled open the tavern's door and stepped inside. Surveying the establishment, he spotted Liza sitting in the same place that he'd left her, but her friend was gone. Ben usually liked a challenge, he thought as he approached the pretty reporter.<p>

* * *

><p>Stu closed his eyes and took a deep breath before pushing the enter key on his keyboard, he'd been trying to get into Slayer63's e-mail account for hours and every trick he had tried didn't work. He opened his eyes and looked with relief at the information on the screen before him, "Hot damn, I'm in!" he exclaimed.<p>

Auggie turned at the sound of Stu's voice and pulled his earphones down, "You got it?" Auggie said. A pleased smile spread across his face.

"I got it!" Stu said. An equally wide smile gracing his features. "Sending you the information right now."

Auggie turned back to his computer and pressed a few buttons on the keyboard as Stu stood over his shoulder looking at the screen. Auggie turned on the speakers and the synthesized voice read the latest e-mail of Slayer63 to them.

Stu furrowed his brow and straightened up, "Why does this person want to watch a dragon in Little Rock? There's no dragon in Little Rock."

Auggie turned toward the sound of Stu's voice and directed his gaze at his subordinate, eye contact would be so helpful right now. He needed to read Stu in, but he didn't know how much he could or should share with Stu. This was probably the most important operation he would ever work on, and Stu was only three years into the company. Most importantly, he needed Stu and his computer abilities; this was too big for just one person.

Stu looked at the serious expression in his boss's face and began to put the pieces together, "Really?"

"Really."

* * *

><p>Henry Wilcox didn't enjoy house arrest, it was annoying and confining, but he wasn't locked up in some Club Fed in the boondocks. His home on the Potomac allowed him certain luxuries: a soft bed with thousand thread count sheets, a marble bathroom, a fully stocked gourmet kitchen and access to the 4G network that would work with his burn phone.<p>

He went to his antique walnut dresser and pulled out a small drawer; reaching behind the false back he retrieved the phone. Parking it in the pocket of his terry cloth robe, he headed for his marble bathroom for some privacy to check out the outside world.

* * *

><p>"Hey Eric," Jai said as he strolled into the Tech Ops Department at the DPD.<p>

Eric turned around. "Welcome back Jai, did you have fun in Miami?" he asked and smiled.

"Fun is all relative here, anything new?"

Eric pulled up the video feed of the darkened house in Oakton, "Nothing, no movement. Not even a pizza delivery."

"Do you have someone keeping an eye on the back of the house?" Jai asked.

Eric nodded, "Annie had me put a few guys on the street over, nothing in or out from either door."

"Good. Keep an eye on the place all night; the op will go down first thing in the morning. I saw Auggie getting on the elevator; he looked like he was on a mission."

"He's been busy with something all day, back and forth to seventh. I haven't seen Joan since this morning," Eric offered.

"I wonder what's going on?" Jai questioned wistfully; he wanted to be involved with a project that was on seventh floor.

"You and me both," Eric shrugged as he brushed potato chip crumbs from his tie.

* * *

><p>"Hi Auggie," Julie greeted him as he pulled open the door of Arthur's office suite, "They're all still in there, Roger Dunbar has joined them."<p>

"Thanks Jules," Auggie replied as he counted the steps toward the door to Arthur's inner office.

"Auggie, tell us you've got something," Arthur said as he walked in the room.

"I've got something," Auggie stopped a few feet shy of the conference table.

"Open chair at your ten o'clock," Joan gave him a verbal cue.

Auggie smiled in the direction of his boss's voice and pulled out the available chair; finding the edge of the conference table, he set the documents he was carrying in front of him before he sat down, "We got into Slayer63's e-mail. I've got copies here."

Joan reached over and distributed the copies to the group.

"Son of a bitch," Roger Dunbar exclaimed as he read one of the pages, "He was scouting when we were in Nashville two days ago. That one wasn't on his published schedule, Corvette wanted to drop in on the car plant."

"So maybe Slayer63 has a friend in the press office? Was the press there?" Steve Baylor asked.

"I'd have to go back, but I think we announced it at the press briefing that morning, he was in Nashville two hours later. Someone in the press room has to be sharing the information," Roger Dunbar said thoughtfully, "They'd have to be pretty damn quick to get there as fast as Air Force One."

"Auggie, have your team pull who was in the press room on Wednesday morning," Arthur directed, "Any luck with the Yatzi or Big Bad Wolf?"

"Not yet, but Stu's on it," Auggie replied, "Is the President heading to Little Rock?"

"Yes, he'll be there tomorrow," Roger answered as he flipped through the documents, finding the one that mentions Little Rock, "Jeez, they got that too."

"I'm going to get on the press room attendance. Anything else?" Auggie asked as he stood up.

"Just keep doing what you're doing," Arthur answered.

"Hell of a job Auggie," Steve told him as he turned for the door, "Hell of a job."

* * *

><p>"So you were teaching in Sri Lanka?" Liza asked as she flipped her hair over her shoulder and reached for her drink on the bar.<p>

"I did, for a while," Ben said looking through his eyelashes at her; she was an easy mark, even for someone right out of the Farm. For someone with his experience it was like remedial math.

"What brought you back to the States?"

"A woman," Ben answered honestly.

"Figures," Liza said pulling away from him.

"A woman that is no longer a part of my life," Ben said taking her hand, "She wasn't right for me and I wasn't right for her."

"Am I right for you?"

"I'd like to find out," he answered giving her hand a slight tug while standing up.

Liza smiled at him and reached down to the floor to retrieve her purse, she parked it on the bar and shoved her reporter's notebook inside before zipping it shut. "Let's find someplace a little more quiet," she said following him toward the door.

* * *

><p>Standing at the gate outside 1900 Pennsylvania Avenue, he looked longingly at the massive white house that was illuminated in a wash of bright light. Someday, someday soon, he would be there; he would call the place his own. They had proposed this plan to him many months ago and now they were mere weeks away from it coming to fruition. If he ever had a doubt as to whether it would work, it was too late now. The plan was in motion. He took a deep breath in and turned away from the object of his desire.<p>

"Ready to go sir?" his driver asked.

"Yes," he answered as he got inside the dark limousine.

* * *

><p><em>Thanks for reading. <em>

_-M_


	9. Chapter 9

_Note: Many thanks again to PatriciaLouise for her comments and suggestions. You're the best! _

* * *

><p>The suburban Oakton street was quiet in the early morning light as Annie watched the UPS truck rumble up to the house across the street from Helen's house. She and Jai had gone over the plan many times in the last twenty-four hours and she felt that had a good handle on it. Execution of the plan would be another thing entirely. Moving the curtains back a bit, she spied Jai getting out of the UPS truck and going to the back.<p>

"Attractive," she said into Jai's ear bud.

"Me or the uniform?" Jai asked while pulling open the back door of the truck.

"I love a man in uniform." Annie giggled, "Has anyone told you that you look ridiculous in that outfit?"

"Its called undercover work," Jai said dryly while he loaded boxes onto the hand truck, "you should try it sometime."

"Oh, I have; but I usually get to wear cocktail dresses and four-hundred dollar shoes."

"You can laugh now, but remember ..."

"You will get me back, I know."

"Any movement from the house?" Jai began to wheel the boxes up the sidewalk.

"Not that I can see; but I'm sure they know you're here."

"Ready for this?"

"Are you sure this is going to work?"

"Reasonably sure. Here goes."

* * *

><p>Auggie pulled open the door to the Tech Ops office and listened for a minute. Hearing the sound of the keyboard coming from Stu's corner, he surmised that Stu had come in early that morning. "Early bird gets the worm?" Auggie ran his hand across the rounded corner of the desk to his workstation.<p>

"No worms here," Stu answered, and sighed heavily, "I don't know who this Yatzi is, but I don't like him."

"Why's that?" Auggie asked while turning on his computer.

"He changes his password like a paranoid person, just when I think I'm making progress, the number of characters changes again. I've run my algorithm ten times this morning. I'm almost ready to give up."

Auggie swung his chair to face Stu, "So give up, for now. Move on to Big Bad Wolf."

"What makes you think I'll do any better with him than Yatzi?"

"Luck. Timing … Not many people change their password like that."

"Except you and me," Stu answered.

"Except you and me," Auggie said and smiled before turning to his own computer.

* * *

><p>"What is that smell?" The sound of a woman's voice, throaty with sleep, came from the bedroom.<p>

Ben smiled to himself as he moved the eggs across the frying pan with a spatula; she had been an easy mark. Keeping up with this charade as long as Arthur wanted him to was going to be a fun assignment.

Liza entered the kitchen and wrapped her arms around Ben's bare chest. "Morning," she said kissing his back.

Ben spun around to face her, spatula still in hand. "Morning to you too." He greeted her and lifted her chin to give her a kiss. "Hope you like a Denver omelet."

"You found all that in my refrigerator?" Liza marveled at the ingredients of their breakfast spread across the counter.

"I did."

"You're a magic man … in more ways than one," Liza remarked as he pulled her close. Breakfast was going to wait.

* * *

><p>"Keep me updated on that op in Belfast," Arthur said as he handed a file folder to the Director of European Operations David Westcott. "And what the hell is going on in Stockholm? I'm hearing that our asset is getting cold feet."<p>

David took the folder from Arthur, "Nothing that I can't handle. My team has it under control."

"You'd better. There's no room for error right now, especially with the press breathing down my neck." Arthur paused for a moment to drive his point home. "Again."

David began to move toward the door, anxious for the meeting to be over. As he reached for the door, it opened in front of him.

"Arthur, I need your approval on this," his assistant Julie said handing him a piece of paper as the three of them moved into the outer office.

Arthur took the paper and read it quickly before signing it with a flourish. "Is that price right?"

"Yes sir," Julie answered retrieving the paper from her boss's hands.

"I can't believe it's that expensive. It's just Oakton for God's sake."

"We didn't have time to shop around," Julie answered.

"What's going on in Oakton? My in-laws live there?" David asked.

"We've got in under control." Arthur pulled open the heavy glass door to usher David out of his office suite.

* * *

><p>Slayer63 was busy last night, he wrote several e-mails to various people, mostly mundane stuff except for his report on what was going on in Little Rock. Out of the bunch, one e-mail caught Auggie's attention. He pulled it up and read it again, his fingers flying over the refreshable Braille display. "Hey Stu?" He was so deep in thought, that he wasn't sure if Stu was still in the office.<p>

"Yeah," Stu answered, deep in thought as well.

"Come over and read this," Auggie said, not pulling his attention from the e-mail.

Stu got up, stretched his legs and walked over to Auggie, leaning over his shoulder to read the e-mail on the screen, "Hmmmm"

"You seeing what I'm seeing?" Auggie asked.

"Yeah, he might be a frequent flyer in an anarchy chat room."

"I think I might need to visit that little corner of cyberspace," Auggie raised his eyebrow, "Time for Auggie the hacker to come out and play again." Auggie hadn't dusted off his NOC from his Natasha days in a few years.

"Just don't drag me with you this time," Stu said and laughed as he returned to his workstation.

"What, you didn't like going into the field with Frankie Rose?" Auggie remembered when he needed Stu's help a while back after an old hacking buddy of his got into trouble.

"That wasn't so bad; it was the look on Joan's face. That was bad."

"Don't miss that part of things," Auggie said wryly as he turned back to his computer.

* * *

><p>Jai pulled the hand truck laden with packages up the wooden steps of the house, making the maximum amount of noise with each pull up the steps. He wanted to seem like he was truly a UPS driver that didn't give a damn about the packages he was delivering. Once he was at the front door, he parked the packages strategically in front of the door and rang the doorbell.<p>

"UPS," he announced.

"Please leave them on the step," a female voice called from inside the home.

"Can't. It says signature required," Jai responded looking at the small computer terminal that all drivers carried.

"It shouldn't," the voice called in protest.

"I can always take them back to the shop," Jai put the terminal in its holster on his belt and began to move the hand truck full of packages.

"Wait," the front door opened revealing a woman of undetermined ethnic origin. Jai couldn't place her accent either, "Let me sign for them."

Jai obliged and handed her the computer terminal. She signed for the packages as Jai pulled the hand truck out from under the boxes. "Thank you," he said taking the terminal back from her. He descended the steps quickly, "Go. Now!"

* * *

><p>"Good Morning David," Bill Davis greeted his fellow director as he entered the elevator.<p>

"If you say so," David answered while he impatiently pushed the elevator button.

"It's early, what's got you so upset?"

"Just met with Arthur," David admitted. "He's in one of his moods. And now there's something going down in Oakton. Sandy's parents live there."

"It's probably nothing," Bill answered, his mind going in motion.

"Probably," David said as he got off the elevator.

As Bill watched the door close behind his friend and co-worker a broad smile spread across his face.

* * *

><p>Auggie signed into the chat room and waited, reading the ongoing conversation about how horrible the government was. He didn't want to seem too eager as the newbie in the room, but he also needed to assimilate himself into the community as quickly as possible to see if there were any leads to the identity of Slayer63. Slayer63 wasn't in the room this morning, but as Auggie lurked, he found a few others that mentioned 'Slay'<p>

"How's Auggie the hacker doing over there?" Stu asked.

"Fine. Auggie the CIA operative is a bit disturbed about what they think of our government."

"Who is that?" the unmistakable sound of Joan's heel's signaled her arrival in the Tech Ops office.

Auggie pulled down his earphones and turned toward the sound of his boss's voice, "Slayer63 has been hanging out in an anti-government chat room. I just stopped by there myself."

"You didn't stop by…" Stu corrected him.

"Auggie the hacker just stopped by," Auggie finished for him, "Seems like they'd prefer the Wild West approach to government."

"Plenty of criminals, few rules and even fewer law enforcement to combat them?" Joan asked.

"Pretty much," Auggie answered.

"Keep at it," Joan said before turning toward Stu, "How are those e-mail accounts coming?"

"Giving Yatzi a rest, he's infuriating. Working on Big Bad Wolf." Stu gave his report.

"Good job guys, I'll brief Arthur," Joan said as she headed toward the door.

* * *

><p>Annie peeked through the curtains to the home across the street; it looked no different now than it did a few hours ago. Or even a few days ago. She spied Jai walk out the front door and close the door behind him.<p>

"You're practically skipping," she said into her ear bud as she observed Jai bounding down the steps.

"We're in. Dick's people are all set to go," Jai reported as he climbed back inside the UPS truck.

"It was that easy?" Annie asked in astonishment.

"It was. Now we wait for the shoe to drop. And you know it will."

"Confidence, I like that."

"One of my endearing qualities."

"You have more than one?" Annie said and snickered a bit.

"You just haven't taken time to get to know the real me," Jai continued the banter.

"Guys, this is a party line …" the voice of Eric Barber filled both of their ears.

* * *

><p>Ben sat in a booth near the Playland in the McDonald's in McLean, Virginia. The noise and screeching coming from the adjacent area filled with children only reinforced the decision he made long ago to not become a parent. From his vantage point, he saw the black BMW sedan pull up in the parking lot, the driver got out of the car and went inside, stopping at the counter to order a cup of coffee.<p>

* * *

><p>"Looks like you made a friend," Stu commented to his boss when he spied a private message window up on the screen.<p>

"I did," Auggie said and grinned, "They think that disgruntled veterans are the best anarchists."

"Are they?" Stu asked, not really knowing how Auggie would answer.

"They can be," Auggie answered honestly; in the first few weeks following his injury he could have gone down either road.

* * *

><p>Arthur settled into the booth next to Ben and began to flip through the paper that was left on the table, pensively drinking his coffee. Ben watched and waited. He had what Arthur wanted; he just needed to wait until the right moment to give it to him.<p>

Arthur pulled apart the various sections of the paper, looking for something, "Excuse me," he said getting Ben's attention, "You wouldn't happen to have the sports section there?"

Ben smiled and stood up, "Yep, I'm all done with it," he said dropping the sports section on Arthur's table, "I think you're going to enjoy some of the stories in there."

Arthur watched as Ben exited the restaurant and began to walk down the street; he was so glad Ben was on their side again.

* * *

><p>Inside each of the two interrogation rooms at the FBI field office, the residents from the house in Oakton sat in silence staring at the wall. As an FBI agent with over twenty years of experience, Stan Waters had seen it all. Their behavior wasn't atypical of the situation. It was all a waiting game now.<p>

"Have either of them had anything to say?" Jai asked Stan as he walked into the small observation room.

"Very little. The woman asked for a lawyer, but we're in no hurry to oblige her, National security an' all," Stan answered with a smirk, "Anything from the residence?"

"Nothing. Our people are just hanging out eating pizza, playing cards and lots of waiting."

"Good gig if you can get it."

"Nah, I'd rather be where the action is," Jai said thoughtfully; he'd spent way too much time waiting for assets during his CIA career.

* * *

><p>Arthur waited as his car was inspected at the main gate of the GHW Bush Center for Intelligence; the paper he got from Ben sat on the seat next to him. The drive from the McDonalds to Langley had been probably the longest six miles of his life. He wanted to read what Ben had discovered, but he knew he needed to wait until he was safely inside the confines of Langley. In a few minutes he would know what Henry Wilcox was up to with Liza Hearn. Or would the information just lead to more questions.<p>

* * *

><p>Auggie stood up and stretched his body to its full height, moving every muscle he could in his arms and legs. After several hours in front of his computer delving into the fictional mind of a disgruntled war veteran and hacker, he was spent – physically and emotionally spent.<p>

"Taking a break?" Stu asked from his little corner of the world.

"Yeah, this is a bit much," Auggie said as he reached for his laser cane on the desk, "I'm gonna take a walk and get some fresh air."

"I'm almost into Big Bad Wolf's account, maybe I'll have some good news for you when you get back," Stu offered.

Auggie had been so involved in what he was doing, that he almost forgot the extra effort that Stu was putting in, "Fantastic. Can I get you anything while I'm up?"

"I'm good, don't worry about me," Stu turned back to his monitor.

Auggie counted the steps to the doorway of the Tech Ops office and located the sliding door; he slid it open and stepped out into the relatively cooler air of the outer office.

"Look who came up for air," Eric Barber retorted as he spotted his boss emerging from the office.

"Barely," Auggie said stopping at Eric's desk.

"Jai and Annie have Oakton under control," Eric reported.

Auggie sighed, in the chaos of the last twenty-four hours he'd almost forgotten about the little op out in the suburbs.

"You forgot about it, didn't you?" Eric asked.

"No, not really … well, yes. Maybe. It's under control?"

"They're following your plan; we're waiting for things to pop."

"And they will. Thanks Barber." Auggie managed a weak smile as he headed out the door of the DPD into the cavernous hallways of Langley.

* * *

><p>"There you are," Joan greeted her husband as soon as he walked into his office on the seventh floor. "Julie said you had to run an errand. Again."<p>

"I know," Arthur said with a sigh as he tossed the sports section on his desk and took off his suit coat, "I've got a few things going right now," he said looking longingly at the paper on his desk, "Auggie making progress?"

"Yes, one of our suspects has frequented an anti-government chat room. Auggie is checking it out."

"Anything else?" Arthur asked distantly.

"Baby steps right now; Stu is still working away on the e-mail accounts. Hopefully we'll have more pieces of the puzzle yet today." Joan looked quizzically at her husband, "Is everything all right?"

"Yeah, ask me about it later, okay?"

* * *

><p>The crisp fall air assaulted Auggie as soon as he opened the door to the small courtyard on the Langley campus. It was a place he found himself in often, to clear his head and to get some fresh air. If Stu needed him he was just steps away from the office, but the place felt as if it was miles from where he'd just been. A few short steps and he was at the concrete bench, he set his cane beside him and put his hands on his knees. Lowering his head, he could feel the tension of the last day escape from his body. The ringing of the cell phone in his pocket interrupted his brief moment of relaxation.<p>

"Anderson," he answered.

"Auggie, I thought you'd forgotten about me."

The familiar voice of Annie brought a smile to his face, "I'd never forget about you. You're my favorite."

"That's what I'd like to hear, did that thing I helped you with blow up?"

"It did and then some. Barber doing okay?"

"He is, but I'm bored out of my mind. I've been staring at the same house for what seems like forever. Hopefully it will be over soon, Jai's got a team in place."

"Great," Auggie said and sighed. He almost wished for the simplicity of what Annie was working on.

"When I get back, I'll bring you some coffee, it sounds like you need it."

"What I could really use is some Patron."

"That too," Annie answered cheerfully, "Good luck, Auggie."

"Thanks, I might need it …."

* * *

><p>Arthur paged through the photocopied notes from Liza Hearn's notebook that Ben had provided to him. With each page he read, he became more and more angry about the audacity of Henry Wilcox. Did he really think he could get away from what he did scott free? The arrogance of the man and the information contained on the pages confirmed it. Unfortunately, the notes didn't contain any indication on how he planned to achieve his goal, but Arthur was going to make it his mission to find out.<p>

* * *

><p>"Where's Helen?" Jai asked as he strolled into the living room of the Rentmeester house in Oakton.<p>

"Out shopping with a friend, I think," Annie answered without looking away from the house across the street, "She's pretty much bored of entertaining me, I'm bored of being bored. They didn't tell us at the Farm that sixty percent of our job would be waiting around."

"They don't tell us lots of things at the Farm." Jai parked next to Annie and joined her in staring out the window.

Annie's cell phone chirped on the windowsill, "Hey Eric, Jai's here, you're on speaker." Annie pushed the button to allow Jai to listen to Barber as well.

"Call coming in to the subject's cell," Eric told her.

"Trace it," Jai ordered.

"Already on it," Eric said, "Dick's people are answering the phone …"

"Recording it?" Jai asked.

"Without saying," Eric sounded annoyed, "Wait, it's a cell, let me see where it's coming from … Jeez …."

"What, what is it?" Jai and Annie asked in unison.

Eric paused for a moment to process the information, "It's bouncing off a cell tower about a mile from here. If it's a burn phone it probably doesn't have a GPS."

Jai looked at Annie. "Can you triangulate it?"

"As fast as I can." Eric fell silent as he worked, "Guys, it looks like it's coming from a parking lot not far from the main gate."

"We got 'em!" Jai tried to contain his excitement.

* * *

><p><em>Thanks for reading and reviews are always appreciated. <em>

_-M_


	10. Chapter 10

"Not far from the main gate?" Annie asked. "What do you mean not far from the main gate? Of Langley?"

"Yes, just a mile or two down the road," Eric answered.

"Do you think?" Annie looked at Jai and raised her eyebrow.

"Inside job," Jai finished the thought for Annie. "Barber, can you get any satellite eyes on the parking lot?"

The sound of buttons being pushed filled the speaker of the cell phone. "I was pulling the tapes from the main gate from the last two hours," Eric answered. "I'll do that later, let me see what satellite I can jump on, call you back in a few …."

"Damn."

"What did we just stumble onto?" Annie asked.

* * *

><p>Auggie strode down the main hallway of Langley, mind and spirit renewed; it was amazing what a short little exchange with Annie could do for his state of mind. He was ready to tackle the next step in the plot against the President. As he pulled open the door to the DPD offices, he paused a moment by Eric Barber's desk.<p>

"Going okay, Barber?" He asked.

"Think we just got a break," Eric answered as the excited shout of Stu inside Auggie's office echoed through the office. "Nothing concrete yet," Eric looked up noticing the distracted look on his boss's face. "I got this. See what Stu just hollered about."

"Thanks Barber," Auggie said and smiled as he crossed to his office and slid open the door. "Good news Stu?"

"Got into Big Bad Wolf's account," Stu said as he swung the chair around to face his boss. "Took me a few tries, but he's not nearly as frustrating as Yatzi. Damn, now I have to try Yatzi again …."

Auggie ghosted his hand around the perimeter of the desk to his workstation and sat down. "Not yet, let's see what Big Bad Wolfie has to tell us first."

* * *

><p>Arthur placed the photocopied notes from Ben under a stack of files in his desk drawer, got up and headed for the door.<p>

"Julie," he said as he pulled the door open, "Can you call Marjorie at the White House and see if you can get any information on pardon requests that may have crossed the President's desk."

Julie looked up from her computer monitor, "I just talked to Marjorie for the first time yesterday, and I'm not so sure she feels she can give me that information."

"Just ask, Jules, asking is free …" Arthur answered as he closed the door.

"For you maybe," Julie said to the closed door and sighed, he obviously didn't understand the unwritten rules of assistants in the bureaucracy that was Washington DC. She hadn't known Marjorie long enough for that kind of favor.

* * *

><p>"Eric, talk to us," Jai said as he pushed the speakerphone button on his cell. Annie was sitting close to him; they'd both been waiting for Eric to call for what seemed like forever.<p>

"Jumped onto a NASA satellite, got a few photos we can use," Eric told them.

"Great."

"That coupled with the main gate logs and tapes and we might be able to put this puzzle together. Got a lot of information to drill down."

"Need some help?" Annie asked.

"Thought you'd never ask," Eric said.

"We should be there in an hour." Jai stood up and grabbed his jacket.

"See you soon … and guys …."

"What is it Barber?" Jai could feel a favor coming.

"Could you stop and pick up a sandwich for me, I haven't had a chance to get to the food court."

"Always thinking about …." Jai began only to get a swat on the upper arm from Annie.

"Be nice," Annie ordered. "Yes, Eric we will pick up some lunch for you."

* * *

><p>"He's one sick wolf," Stu commented. He and Auggie had spent the last half hour reading the e-mails of the third person involved in the conspiracy to kill the President of the United States.<p>

"Deranged is probably a better word." Auggie pushed his chair away from his desk and stretched his arms over his head. "It sounds like this little plot is just the tip of this iceberg for him, he wants to do more."

"Timothy McVeigh on steroids," Stu said as he continued to read the information on his screen, "Auggie…."

"Yeah?" Auggie swung his chair to face Stu.

"Have you noticed that he's mentioned 'the Pig' quite a bit?"

"Yeah, I thought it might be a reference to the President," Auggie answered. "They mentioned pig in the chat room too."

"I don't think so … read the one I just sent you …"

Auggie pulled his chair closer to his desk and opened the e-mail Stu sent him. His brow furrowed as he read the information conveyed to him from the refreshable braille display. "Really? It sounds like it's a restaurant or bar or something."

"It sure does. Running a search of any liquor licenses in a hundred mile radius that have the name Pig in it."

"We might have caught a break."

* * *

><p>Julie ripped the piece of paper from her note pad and stood up; crossing the office to her boss's door, she knocked three times. Their signal that she had something he wanted.<p>

"Come in."

Julie opened the door. "I've got what you asked for," she said as she handed him the piece of paper, he had no idea how much she had to beg for the information or how much assistant's capitol it cost her.

"Great." Arthur took the paper from her hands. "Anyone I know on it?"

"Not that I can tell. A few reek of political favors, but that's not surprising."

Arthur stared at the list in disbelief. "You sure this is right?"

"Got it from Marjorie, just like you asked me to do."

Arthur folded the paper and placed it in the same desk drawer as Liza Hearn's notes from Ben. "This is disappointing."

"Do you want me to try to go further?" Julie knew she had to ask, but she wasn't prepared for his answer.

"No. No, this is fine. I just thought someone was angling for a pardon. I'll keep checking on my end."

* * *

><p>Eric looked up as a brown paper bag was parked in the middle of his desk with a thud.<p>

"Just what you asked for," Jai said and smirked.

"Thanks!" Barber said as he eagerly dug his hand into the bag. "Here you go." He handed Jai a thick file with his free hand, "If you two can drill down the photos, I'll keep an eye on things in the 'burbs."

Annie pulled the file from Jai's outstretched hand. "Thanks Eric, we'll be in the conference room."

"I'll be here …" Eric said through a bite of sandwich.

"Eating …" Jai said under his breath as he followed Annie down the hallway.

* * *

><p>"Got four liquor licenses," Stu announced.<p>

"Only four?" Joan asked as she leaned on Auggie's desk.

"I thought there'd be more too," Auggie replied. "Anything promising?"

"I think we can toss out the ones in Baltimore and Georgetown," Stu continued, "Bethesda, too."

"So that leaves us with one," Joan thought out loud.

"It's on Route 25 just inside the West Virginia border near Meyerstown, the Dixie Pig."

"Dixie Pig?" Auggie and Joan said in unison.

"Sounds like a class joint, doesn't it?" Stu said and laughed a bit.

Joan squeezed Auggie's shoulder, "Good job guys."

* * *

><p>"A church parking lot, seriously? Who commits treason from a church parking lot?" Annie pulled the satellite photos closer to the rest of the photos on the table in front of her.<p>

"Our guy does," Jai said with a distracted tone in his voice. "I've got a silver mini-van."

Annie checked the photo, "Nope."

"Black Chevy sedan?"

"Maybe. It's hard to tell the make and model." Annie squinted at the photo. "Keep going."

"Dark gray SUV?"

"No. Wait. Yes, I think so …" Annie pushed the photo toward Jai.

Jai compared the photo from the Main gate to that of the satellite photo of the church parking lot. "This is a real possibility." Jai got up and grabbed his suit jacket from the back of the chair.

"Where are you going?" Annie asked.

"I'm going to go sit on that parking lot. Our guy said he'd have more information for the team in Oakton. He's going to be calling back."

Annie pulled the photos back into a file and followed Jai out the door.

* * *

><p>"Dunkin' Donuts, we may as well meet at the cop shop," Ben said as he sat in the vinyl booth, his back to Arthur.<p>

"I don't see any cops," Arthur said and took a drink of coffee.

"They probably don't see any CIA operatives either. What's up?"

"Did you read the notes from our illustrious reporter?"

"Yes."

"Any thoughts on how that might be accomplished?"

"Multiple ways, but he's not exactly a drinking buddy of the person that could help him," Ben answered.

"My thoughts exactly, stay on course. Do what you need to do; we need to know how he plans to get that paper signed."

"You want me to …?"

"You know what I want you to do," Arthur said standing up. "You should really try the donuts with the red, white and blue sprinkles. Very patriotic."

Ben watched Arthur walk out the door and to his car; he knew what Arthur had just asked him to do, but he wasn't sure how tangled he wanted to get in Liza Hearn's web.

* * *

><p>"Eric," Jai said as soon as the Tech Ops answered his phone. "I need you to run a plate. Quietly."<p>

"Will do," Eric Barber answered. "Wait, there's an incoming call to our people in Oakton."

"This has to be our guy," Annie said from the passenger seat of Jai's BMW.

"GMC Acadia, Virginia plates SAG 598," Jai gave Barber the information.

"Hang on …" Eric fell silent on the other end of the line.

"What is it Barber?" Jai asked with concern in his voice.

"Do you have a visual on the suspect?" Eric finally asked.

"Just the car, not the driver, why?"

"It's someone. Someone big. I gotta run a voice recognition on this one."

"One of ours?" Annie asked.

"Oh yeah, get back here ASAP." Eric said feeling a burning in the pit of his stomach, wishing that Auggie wouldn't have given him this assignment.

* * *

><p>"We really shouldn't be doing this," Stu told Auggie as he pulled his car onto Route 25. "Joan didn't tell us to do this ourselves."<p>

"Joan told us to keep this quiet, we're keeping it quiet," Auggie reasoned.

"She's going to kill me; if she doesn't kill me, she's going to fire me," Stu muttered.

"We're just a couple of guys stopping at a bar, simple as that."

"Nothing with you is ever simple." Stu pulled into the parking lot of the Dixie Pig restaurant.

"Tell me what you see," Auggie unbuckled his seatbelt in anticipation.

"Small bar, kind of run down. Looks like it was an old house at one time. About a dozen vehicles in the parking lot, mostly older model domestic pickups. We're going to stand out like a sore thumb Auggie."

"No we're not, you don't look like you stepped out of GQ magazine do you?"

Stu looked down at the crummy clothes that he was wearing, "My mother wouldn't let me in her house looking like this."

"Good, let's go." Auggie said pulling on the door latch.

* * *

><p>"You sure about this?" Joan asked as she watched Arthur pace his office.<p>

"Barber ran it twice; we have visual proof and a voice print from the recording to Dick's people in Oakton. He's dead to rights," Jai confirmed the findings.

"He always was one of Henry's guys, I never trusted the slimy son of a bitch," Arthur said, his voice filled with venom.

Jai bristled at the words that came from Arthur's mouth; Annie caught his arm and gave it a reassuring squeeze, mouthing 'don't.'

"Is he back on campus?" Joan asked Jai.

"Barber said he got back a few minutes after we did. He's in his office."

"Okay," Arthur said taking a deep breath, "We gotta do this now, Jai you stay here. Joan would you ask Julie to get a hold of Steve Baylor on your way out."

"You want me here?" Jai asked in disbelief.

"Yes, who better to take him down than Henry's son," Arthur told him.

* * *

><p>"Oh, man it's better that you can't see this," Stu told Auggie quietly as he led him into the dark and dirty bar. "I didn't go to places like this when I was a poor college student."<p>

"You were never a poor college student, Stu," Auggie said as Stu stopped in front of a small table near the bar.

Stu put Auggie's hand on the back of the chair and pulled one out for himself.

"It even feels greasy," Auggie commented as he pulled his chair out. "Let's just order a beer, pretend like we're talking and listen to what's going on."

Stu nodded even though Auggie couldn't see him and swiveled around to make eye contact with the bartender.

"Be over in a minute buddy, Allie just quit on us," the greasy bartender called to the men.

* * *

><p>Liza turned to see who had just planted a kiss on the base of her neck, "Never thought I'd see you again."<p>

"I'm not a one night stand kind of guy," Ben answered as he sat on a bar stool next to the pretty reporter.

"The way you took off before, you could have fooled me," Liza took a sip of her drink.

"I had a meeting," Ben explained as a beer was set before him by the bartender.

"A meeting?" Liza questioned. "You never told me what you do."

"I didn't."

"Are you going to?"

"Maybe …" Ben said looking into her eyes; she was so easy to hook.

* * *

><p>"What's this?" he asked as the aerial photo was placed on the large conference table in front of him.<p>

"Photo. The satellite kind," Arthur answered. "We have access to all kinds of things, like this too." Arthur caught the photo of the main gate that Jai just slid across the table to him.

"So?" he said, his voice cracking slightly.

"We know. We know it's you," Arthur growled. "We're the Central Intelligence Agency. How long did you think it would take before we figured it out?"

"You have a couple of photos, big deal." He shoved the photos back across the table to Arthur.

"We have so much more than that." Jai pushed the play button on the mini recorder.

* * *

><p>"Can we go now?" Stu asked nervously as he scanned the patrons in the bar.<p>

"We just got here," Auggie took a drink of the ice cold beer.

"I feel like everyone is staring at me."

"They're staring at me Stu, I'm sure blind guys aren't exactly common around here."

"Jeez, someone is coming …" Stu tapped his fingers nervously on the dirty table.

"Follow my lead," Auggie braced for the arrival of the person that Stu was so nervous about.

"Never seen you two around here before," the extra large man said as he towered above Stu and Auggie at the table.

"Never been here before," Auggie explained. "We heard good things about this place and we were thirsty, so we thought we'd stop by."

"Good things?" The man laughed in disbelief. "There ain't nothin' good about this place."

"Beer's cold," Auggie answered and slurped his beer.

* * *

><p><em>As always; a thank you to PatriciaLouise for her help in editing the chapter.<em>

_Thanks for reading._

_-M_


	11. Chapter 11

_Usually with inferences from life, it takes me a few weeks to get a new chapter ready. The stars aligned this week and this chapter just flowed. Thanks to PatriciaLouise for her suggestions, they always make the chapter better. _

* * *

><p>"Man, we're busted …." Stu muttered as he and Auggie rounded the corner to the Tech Ops office.<p>

"We're only busted if we get caught," Auggie said quietly.

"Hello, Stu … Auggie … my office," Joan said tapping her heel on the marble floor.

"Like I said, busted." Stu removed Auggie's hand from his elbow and placed it on Joan's.

"Joan …" Auggie began as they climbed the short flight of stairs to the DPD Director's office.

"Not here," Joan cast a glace toward the head of the Tech Ops department, she knew she should be angry with him she was, but somehow she wasn't.

Once inside Joan's office Auggie let go of her arm and took a few cautious steps to where he knew the sofa was against the wall.

"You're mad at me, I understand," Auggie started as he sank into the sofa. He heard the door close behind them.

"I was worried about you; I'm mad at you; for a few minutes I was disappointed in you; and somehow …." Joan said the last word with exasperation in her voice, "somehow, I'm proud of you too."

Auggie turned in the direction of her voice and raised an eyebrow, "Proud?"

* * *

><p>"So you have a recording, bully for you," he said, a bit of perspiration forming on his upper lip.<p>

"So you're going to take the protocol way out of this, deny, deny and deny again." Arthur leaned back in his chair. "We've all been through the Farm. We know how this game is played. Only I can play it better."

"Was my father aware of this?" Jai asked; he needed to know if his father was involved in the latest leak.

"Your father knows everything that's going on," he answered.

"So he's pulling your strings?" Arthur questioned.

"There are no strings to pull."

"Keep going, the hole you're digging keeps getting deeper." Arthur stood up and walked over to the window. "Steve Baylor is on his way here, you can explain it to us first or you can wait for him."

"As we speak your office is being searched and so is your vehicle. We will find the burn phone, and then it will be all over," Jai continued for Arthur.

"It's never over. Don't you understand?" he said and laughed. "You think you have this all figured out."

* * *

><p>"You thought you had a lead, you knew that this was a need-to-know operation and you took matters into your own hands to see if it was viable. Initiative is a good thing, in the proper proportions."<p>

"We were just scoping out the place; for all they know we were a couple of dirt bags that were passing through town."

Joan leaned forward in the small chair next to the sofa, "You do look pretty bad. Where did you get those clothes and what did you make Stu wear?"

"They belong to Auggie the hacker. We definitely found the place Joan; it's it – ground zero for what's going on. They're very suspicious of new people. When we were leaving, I heard someone talking whose sentence structure sounds like Big Bad Wolf. They're there; I know it. We need to go back."

"Do you think you should go back? With Stu? The only times Stu has been in the field it's been with you and it's usually not sanctioned."

"I heard the guy, I can't explain how I know it's him, but I know," Auggie tried to explain.

Joan leaned back in the chair and watched the blind former field agent, her subordinate and her friend; the look on his face was hopeful, but preparing for the worst.

"Joan?" Auggie asked; the silence was killing him.

"I'm thinking," Joan told him. "This is not the best scenario; but I'm thinking about it."

"That's all I can ask."

* * *

><p>"Who was that?" Ben asked as he rolled over on the bed next to Liza.<p>

"Just a source," Liza answered as she set her cell phone on the nightstand, "I've worked with him for a while and he says he has something for me."

"Now?"

Liza swung her legs over the side of the bed and grabbed a bed sheet to wrap around herself, "Yes, now. When he has something for me, he doesn't like to wait."

"But we're in the middle of something …" Ben protested.

"We can be in the middle of something again, after I meet my source," Liza kissed him on the top of the head, "I'm going to shower. Some coffee would be great."

Ben watched as Liza padded across the floor to the bathroom and closed the door, a few minutes later the shower was running. He got off the bed and walked across the room to his jacket, no covert officer should be without a bug. He went back to the nightstand and looked at the call history on Liza's phone, grabbing a piece of paper and wrote down the last few phone numbers in the history. Then he began to take the back off the phone.

* * *

><p>"It's never over?" Arthur asked from his spot at the window. "What in the hell do you mean by that?"<p>

"I'm not the first person that thinks that the DNI made a mistake when they appointed you and I'm not going to be the last," he explained.

"So this is all about me? Jeopardizing operations and the safety of our officers is all about getting rid of me. This is all a political game? How incredibly selfish can you be?" Arthur's voice rose a bit with each syllable.

"I thought my father had that market cornered," Jai said under his breath.

"Henry is a great man, don't ever forget that," he countered as three knocks from the office door filled the room.

Julie pushed the door open and allowed the visitor to pass and handed Arthur a phone, "They found this in his car."

Steve Baylor, the Director of National Intelligence, walked to the conference table and stood over the accused man, "You would think they would learn after Henry was arrested," Steve said narrowing his eyes, "Bill, I thought Hal Kelly and the President were foolish for selecting Arthur over you. Apparently they knew something that I didn't," Steve leaned on the conference table, "You're a sneaky little shit, just like Henry Wilcox. And you're going to meet the same fate as him."

Julie ushered the US Marshals into the office.

"And don't think that you'll be under house arrest or at a Club Fed," Steve continued, "I'm going to make sure that your little trip with the prison system in this fine country that you apparently have no respect for is miserable. Just like you."

"I'm sure this will contain all the evidence we'll need to send you away for a long time," Arthur set the phone on the conference table in front of Bill.

Bill Davis was pulled to his feet by one of the Marshals and handcuffed. He glared at Arthur and Jai as he was led out of the room, but he didn't say a word.

"Great save Wilcox," Steve patted Jai on the back and followed the Marshals out of the office.

"Looks like I'm going to have to fill the South American Operations Director position," Arthur said mysteriously as he set a glass of scotch in front of Jai.

* * *

><p>Auggie slid open the door to the Tech Ops department and stepped inside the office.<p>

"So?" Stu couldn't wait to ask.

"We're not fired," Auggie told him. "She's actually okay that we did it."

"She is?"

"We should go back, we're onto something. And she's thinking about it." Auggie pulled out his desk chair and sat down. "Any luck with Yatzi?"

"No; but I just started again."

Auggie turned to the entrance of the office and the sound of familiar footsteps, "Ms. Walker, nice of you to join us again."

"We're done in Oakton," Annie said as she walked toward Auggie, "Coffee is at your 10 o'clock." She set the cup of hot coffee on his desk.

"I thought I told you to bring Patron," Auggie said and smiled in her direction. "Did it work out?"

"Perfectly, just like you planned." Annie leaned on Auggie's desk. "We got the leak."

"Close your ears Stu," Auggie said.

Stu responded by placing his hands over his ears – mocking Auggie's order.

Annie glanced over her shoulder at Stu and winked at him, "It was Bill Davis."

Auggie furrowed his brow, "The Director of South American Operations, Bill Davis?"

"Yep, Arthur and Jai are in with him now."

"Incredible," Auggie said as he turned to his computer.

Again the familiar sound of heels on the floor echoed into the office, "Conference room all of you, it's going vertical," Joan told them as she turned on her heel and headed out the door.

Annie asked as Auggie caught her elbow, "What's going vertical?"

* * *

><p>Ben pulled his car over to the side of the road and watched the red Prius drive down the long and winding driveway to the mansion on the Potomac River. Arthur had warned him the Henry Wilcox was one of Liza's sources, but he didn't want to believe it. Until now. Turning the car around, he knew what he had to do next. He needed to get to his safe house and get some equipment and then return to Liza's apartment.<p>

* * *

><p>Jai leaned back in the conference chair and took a long swallow of the strong liquid that Arthur had offered him. "I don't get it. Why try to ruin operations?"<p>

Arthur parked the bottle of scotch in the middle of the table and sat down across from Jai. "It wasn't about ruining operations; it was about ruining me. Bill thought he was next in line for the DCS. As much as told me so on more than one occasion. You can't play politics with the lives of officers and at the risk of our country's security. His ambition clouded his judgment."

"Do you ever wonder why you have a bull's eye on your back?"

"Sometimes," Arthur answered honestly, "but I don't spend much time worrying about what others are doing. This job takes enough energy without that."

* * *

><p>"Are you going to clue me in?" Annie whispered to Auggie as they entered the conference area of the DPD offices.<p>

Joan surveyed the assembled group of officers and technical operatives and she took a deep breath, "Two days ago, we received a CivOb from a computer technician that some e-mail communication on a crashed hard drive may be indicating a potential plot to assassinate the President of the Untied States. Auggie and his team did some digging and discovered that there was a credible threat to the life of the President. Auggie …."

"The communication came from three unknown individuals; screen names: Slayer63, Yatzi and Big Bad Wolf …"

Annie tried to control a snort at the names of the unknown subjects.

"From what we have gathered they have been closely observing the Secret Service in action in multiple locations where POTUS has had public events," Auggie continued, "We have not yet been able to positively identify the subjects, but Stu and I are continuing to work on it. I have had access to a chat room where two of the subjects frequent that led us to ..."

"A small bar just inside the West Virginia border," Joan hit a button on the remote control bringing up the photo that Stu took earlier in the day. "The Dixie Pig. Auggie and Stu checked it out and they do believe that there may be some activity there. We're looping in the FBI and the Secret Service, but both agencies want us to gather information prior to any action being taken. Contact has already been established by Auggie with several of the patrons, but we need some eyes in there as well."

"Joan …" Stu said quietly from the back of the room.

"Yes, Stu?" Joan looked over the heads of her staff to make eye contact with the shy Tech Ops.

"When Auggie and I were there, the bartender mentioned that a waitress had just quit. Could that be an in for us?" Stu asked.

Auggie nodded remembering that Allie the waitress had just walked off the job; Stu was paying attention when they were there, not bad for someone with little to no field experience.

"Okay," Joan said looking at the female officers, "Jillian, you did some serving, didn't you?"

"Tony Roma's in college," the dark haired field agent offered.

"Annie? I think I remember in your file that you did it as well," Joan continued.

"Just a few diners off base when I was in high school," Annie responded.

Joan pondered her options for a moment, "Jillian, get with Auggie, we're going to send you in. Annie, you're on deck if Jillian can't get in. Barber, see if a fresh set of eyes might help us get into Yatzi's e-mail"

Eric Barber nodded from across the room.

"Auggie, once we get Jillian or Annie in place, I want you and Stu to go back in, see if you can't find the Big Bad Wolf again."

Annie glanced at Auggie and watched as a slight grin warmed his features.

* * *

><p><em>Thanks for reading.<em>

_-M_


	12. Chapter 12

_Note: I have to apologize for taking so long to get this next chapter up. Unfortunately, my world got turned upside down right after New Years. I found myself with lots of time to write and absolutely no ambition or creativity to do so. Things are not quite back to normal, but the want to write has returned, thus this chapter. _

_Thanks to PatriciaLouise for prodding me along to start again and for fixing the mistakes that I made._ _The chapters are always better after she has her say._

* * *

><p>Jillian Fuller climbed the battered brick steps to the entrance of the Dixie Pig Restaurant took a deep breath and opened the door. Immediately she was assaulted by the smell of stale beer and barbeque. It was dark; it was smelly; it looked like it hadn't been updated since the late 1970s and normally she wouldn't be caught dead in a place like this. "You could have at least warned me about this place …" She said quietly so only Auggie could hear her, "I feel like I just stepped into a time warp."<p>

"Not like I could tell you that," Auggie answered dryly, "What do you see?"

"It's quiet, just a few customers."

"Jillie!" The sound of another voice startled both Auggie and Jillian. "What are you doing here?"

* * *

><p>"Do you think you can contain the fallout?" Jai asked Arthur as he took a chair across from the DCS. "It won't be long until the press starts to nose around this one."<p>

"We can hope that Bill was the only one, but Henry did have fans all over this building and in Washington." Arthur leaned forward and took of his glasses, "I know he's your father, but …"

"He's my father, but it doesn't mean I respect him. Not anymore."

"You sure about that?"

Jai sat in silence for a moment, taking in what Arthur had just implied, "You're questioning my loyalty to you? To the agency?"

"Blood is blood."

"I didn't think I had to prove myself to you anymore," Jai said standing up, "If this is how you want to play it, I'll request a transfer, I'm sure Ken can use me somewhere in Asia."

"Sit down Jai," Arthur commanded.

Jai obliged him and sat down without saying a word.

"Take a look at this." Arthur slid a file across the desk to Jai.

Jai picked up the file, opened it and scanned its contents. "Is this for real?" he asked.

"Needed to make sure you were on board with me before I trusted you with that."

"This is big …"

* * *

><p>Jillian spun around to see who had spoken her name so loudly right behind her; she was face to face with a man a little younger than her with a bushy beard and a Chevrolet baseball cap. She searched her memory for a moment. "Mickey?" she finally asked.<p>

"Yes. My god it's so good to see you!" Mickey grabbed Jillian and pulled her in for an unwelcomed hug. "How are you?"

"I'm good," Jillian said trying to be vague. "And you?"

"Working at the shop in town, that college thing was never for me, but you and Joey knew that," Mickey explained. "What are you doing here?"

"Just looking for the bathroom, I was down in Winchester for business and took the scenic route back to Frederick. Bathrooms aren't as easy to come by when you take the scenic route."

Auggie listened to the conversation; he hadn't handled an op for Jillian in a while and her quick thinking impressed him.

"Your folks are still back in Frederick?" Mickey asked.

"Yep. Retired. Playing golf whenever they can. How's Joe? I haven't seen him in forever."

* * *

><p>The disadvantage to being <em>'Arthur's guy'<em> was that Ben didn't have access to all of the high tech toys and data that he had when he was a regular field operative. But he was scrappy and knew how to get what he needed using the assets he had. He pulled open the door of the independent wireless store in Arlington and surveyed the employees. Finding his mark, he approached the counter.

* * *

><p>"So where are we at with this?" Jai asked as he set the folder on the edge of Arthur's desk.<p>

"We've looped in the Secret Service and the FBI. They want us to quietly gather information before they take any action. If we get too eager, we might spook these guys back into hiding and not find them for another six months or until it's too late."

"And my role is?"

"No offense Jai, but you're not going to fit in with the rednecks in West Virginia," Arthur stated bluntly. "I want you to be the liaison between the agencies, the point man if you will. Someone who knows exactly what's going on. We're working to get someone on the ground in that dive bar; it seems to be one of their hangouts. Check in with Auggie, he's been with this since the CivOb came in."

Jai nodded and stood up, "I won't let you down Arthur."

"_We_ won't let the President down."

* * *

><p>Jillian waved to her long lost friend and got into her car in the parking lot of the Dixie Pig Restaurant. She started the car and pulled slowly out of the parking lot. "We're alone," she stated simply.<p>

"Jeez, what was that?" Auggie asked from the other end of the ear bud.

"College boyfriend's brother. I'm busted, I can't go in."

"Good thing you hadn't applied yet. No harm, no foul. What can you tell me so I can prepare Annie?"

"I was dressed all wrong," Jillian said and laughed looking down at the too tight jeans and t-shirt that she was wearing.

"Wrong? Wrong how?"

"Remember 'Dukes of Hazzard'?"

* * *

><p>"Can I help you?" she asked looking into his blue eyes.<p>

"Yes, I hope you can," Ben answered looking deeply into hers. "My buddy has this phone and I think he might have gotten it somewhere around here. I really want one like it and I don't know where to start."

"What kind of phone is it?"

"It does pretty much everything; I have his phone number if that helps," Ben offered.

She looked around to see who else was in the store with them. "I really shouldn't do this …"

"I won't tell …," Ben said with a wink as he pushed a small piece of paper with the phone number on it across the counter.

* * *

><p>Auggie stood up from his desk and collected his laser cane from its resting spot next to his keyboard. He knew that he should probably call to see if she was in her office, but he was anxious to talk to her. He started for the door and within a few steps he heard the door slide open.<p>

"Hi, Auggie," Stu said more to inform Auggie as to whom opened the door than for a greeting.

"Did you see Joan on your way back?" Auggie was thankful for the help in locating his boss.

Stu turned and looked over his shoulder. "She's standing next to Annie's desk. What's up?"

"Change of plans. Thanks buddy." Auggie answered and headed to the bullpen.

* * *

><p>"You," Vincent Rosabi stated simply as he leaned back in his chair and watched Jai enter his office.<p>

"Hello, Vincent," Jai greeted him as he closed the door behind him.

"I see you know my name, but I don't even know yours," Rosabi said and smirked.

"You can call me Jai."

"Jay. Is that an initial or a name?"

"Could be either," Jai answered mysteriously and sat down across from the skeptical FBI agent.

"So what do I owe this visit to, Jay?" Rosabi emphasized the name as he said it.

"Your boss and my boss have had some very important conversations in the last 24 hours. Have you been informed?"

"My boss is across the hall, I haven't talked to him much today? Why?"

"Okay, your boss's boss."

"Dick Wilson? He just got back from Florida; said he needed to see me."

"Go talk to him. I'll wait," Jai said knowingly.

"You'll wait. Here in my office?"

"You can trust me."

"I don't know that."

"I did get in the building without question. And I have a nifty visitor badge." Jai grabbed the badge on his lapel and wiggled it.

"You people irritate me, you know that?"

"I'll be here. And thanks I don't need anything while you're gone."

* * *

><p>Auggie honed in on the sound of Annie and Joan's voices in the bullpen. They broke their conversation when they saw him approach.<p>

"Auggie, something happen with Jillian?" Joan asked.

"It's what didn't happen; she was made by an old boyfriend's brother," Auggie explained as he stopped in front of the women.

"Before or after she made contact at the bar?" Joan asked with concern.

"Before – thankfully – before."

Joan turned her attention to the blond field operative sitting next to her, "Looks like you're up Annie. How are your waitressing skills?

Annie sprang to her feet. "Rusty, but I'll manage."

"Got any Daisy Dukes?" Auggie asked and smiled widely.

Annie and Joan swung their gaze toward the grinning blind man standing next to them. "What?" they asked in unison.

"Jillian said that she was dressed all wrong for the job; looks like Annie and her Daisy Dukes are up."

"Great. I knew I should have hit the gym more this week …," Annie said under her breath. She caught Auggie's arm as the two of them walked back toward his office. "You're enjoying this aren't you?"

"As much as I can in my limited capacity. Yes I am," Auggie answered; the grin still on his face.

* * *

><p><em>Thanks for reading and reviews are always appreciated!<em>

_-M_


	13. Chapter 13

Annie tugged on her mini-skirt, futilely trying to make it longer. "I feel ridiculous," she stated simply as she crossed the parking lot and approached the entrance to the Dixie Pig.

"Come on," Auggie said and let out a laugh, filling Annie's ear bud, "Stu says you look like a cross between Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman and Daisy Duke. It can't be all bad."

"Easy for you to say," Annie retorted, "The things I do for my country."

"You and me both. You almost in?"

"Here goes…" Annie pulled open the door and was greeted by the scene that Jillian had described to her. "Nice place," she mumbled as she approached the bar.

* * *

><p>The small, dimly lit diner in Georgetown was nearly vacant following the lunch crowd; it was the perfect time for two men that shouldn't be seen together to meet. Ben took a slurp of the thick coffee and continued to pick at the peeling laminate counter while watching the entrance to the diner. A few minutes later the door opened revealing bright sunlight from outside; Ben looked up to see Arthur approaching him. Arthur sat a stool away from Ben and waited for the lone waitress to take his order.<p>

"What can I get you darlin'?" she asked with a drawl.

"Coffee and a slice of cherry pie, if it's fresh," Arthur answered.

"Fresh this morning," She flipped over a coffee mug and poured Arthur a cup of coffee and then turned to toward the back counter to plate up the pie.

Ben nonchalantly scribbled on the newspaper opened to the page with the crossword puzzle in front of him while the waitress took care of Arthur. "What's a six letter word for sneaky?"

As the waitress set the pie in front of Arthur, he pretended not to hear Ben. "He's asking you a question sugar," she stated as she moved away from the men.

"Huh?"

"I was asking if you knew a six letter word for sneaky." Ben repeated his question.

Arthur took a bite of pie, contemplating the answer. "Weasel."

Ben smiled broadly and looked at his puzzle. "Perfect."

"Got anymore questions for me?" Arthur asked.

"I think I have some answers," Ben replied and took another drink of coffee.

* * *

><p>Annie plopped down on a barstool and placed her sparkly red purse on the bar next to her. She sighed deeply as she waited for the bartender to notice her.<p>

"Don't play the lost puppy too much," Auggie cautioned in her ear.

Annie covered her lips with her hand and mumbled quietly, "Done this before."

The bartender looked up from the glasses he was cleaning and noticed Annie sitting at the bar. He wiped his hands on the dirty bar rag and walked toward the pretty woman that had just entered his establishment. "What can I get you?"

"Whisky neat and some luck," Annie answered.

The bartender put a glass on the counter and began to pour the amber liquid, while keeping his eyes on her. "Whisky, I got. Luck, ain't so sure. Why do you need luck?"

Annie knew not to open up too much too soon, "Just hasn't been my week," she replied, "Or my month." She set a five-dollar bill on the bar, but he didn't take it.

"That's too bad; you're awful pretty to be down on your luck."

Annie took a drink of the whisky and didn't reply to the remark. Her silence was too much for the bartender to take. "What brings you in here?"

"Stopped for gas down the road and saw your place. I needed a drink," Annie stated simply, still not sharing too much information.

"Petey, can we get a beer sometime in the next century?" a voice called from the other end of the bar.

Annie drained the rest of her whisky from the glass and picked up her purse, "Sorry, I won't be taking any more of your time," she said getting off the stool.

"Wait, you need another drink?"

Annie sighed, "What I need is some luck. But at this point I'd settle for a job," she said turning to leave.

"This might be your lucky day," Petey said and smiled, "Have a seat; the next one is on me."

Annie looked at him skeptically and sat back down on the barstool, "Nicely played," she heard Auggie say into her ear bud.

* * *

><p>"I think our little friend on the Potomac has a burn phone," Ben said quietly. "Did some checking in her call history. Lots of calls from this number. Specifically, a call came from it right before she bolted on me last night. She went to his place, so logic would lead …."<p>

"To it being his phone," Arthur finished, speaking in an equally hushed tone. "How did he get one, he's on house arrest."

"That's a stupid question."

"Now that we have the number …."

"You have friends that can find out all kinds of nifty things," Ben said looking down at his crossword. "Do you know a nine letter word for 'scoop'?"

Arthur thought about Ben's question for a moment, "You think?"

"It might flush him out."

"Interesting."

"You know, I give up on this crossword. Want to give it a try?" Ben shoved the newspaper across the counter to Arthur. He opened his wallet and dropped some money on the peeling counter before heading out the door. Arthur looked down at the crossword and found several scribbled notes from Ben, including a cell phone number and its carrier.

* * *

><p>"This inter-agency feel good crap is getting on my nerves," Vincent Rosabi sneered as he spotted Jai at the security checkpoint of the J. Edgar Hoover headquarters of the FBI.<p>

Jai finished with the security guard and clipped the visitor badge on his lapel as he followed Rosabi down the hallway. "If we do our jobs and play nice, this will all be behind us soon."

"So this is an exercise in playing together on the playground? Its not third grade _Jay_."

The two men entered the elevator and Rosabi forcefully pushed the button.

Jai knew that the FBI building had as many eyes and ears inside it as Langley did, but they were alone in the elevator and he needed to get his point across. "No it's not third grade; it's national security. You know the future of our country. Quit this territorial bullshit and we'll do what we need to do and it will all be over soon."

"And you'll crawl back under that rock that you crawled out from under and I won't have to see you again?"

"We should both be so lucky," Jai answered under his breath as the elevator door opened in front of them.

* * *

><p>Auggie handed the girl at the coffee cart some money and she brushed the coffee cup against the back of his hand. "Thanks Lisa," he said and smiled before turning to walk down the hallway.<p>

"Annie in?" Joan asked falling in step with him.

"Yep, she starts tomorrow. We've got our eyes inside," Auggie answered.

"Roger Dunbar said he's going to get us the tentative schedule for the next few weeks, have Stu or Eric go through it. We need to be in front of this in case they make their move."

"I have Stu monitoring Slayer and Big Bad Wolf. I'll get Eric on the schedule," Auggie said thinking out loud.

"This could play out in six days or six months."

"We'll be ready."

Joan sighed. "I hope so."

* * *

><p>"The king calls the peasant to his castle," Liza Hearn said as Julie escorted her into Arthur's office.<p>

"So glad to see you again Liza." Arthur motioned for her to sit down on the leather sofa next to the window.

Liza sat on the edge of the sofa and eyed the Director of Clandestine Services with a mix of confusion and curiosity. "Henry is on trial, you don't need me anymore."

"I always need an honest reporter on my side."

"On your side? I'm a reporter; I'm on no one's side."

Arthur leaned forward, "I'm a good guy; you know it. And you like the good guys; you just don't want to admit it."

* * *

><p><em>As always, thanks to PatriciaLouise for her corrections and suggestions. <em>

_Thanks for reading._

_-M_


	14. Chapter 14

"The view up here is amazing," Eric Barber marveled as he surveyed the countryside from his perch atop a utility pole outside the Dixie Pig in West Virginia, "I bet I can see three states from here."

"Four," Auggie answered simply into the earbud, "Task at hand Barber."

"Yeah, yeah, almost set. You should have visual in just a minute."

"Get the parabolic mic set too," Auggie reminded him.

"Working on the visual first. You see anything?" Barber asked and realized what he said, "Sorry boss, I forget sometimes…Stu anything?"

"Yep, nice and clear…" Stu answered.

Auggie turned to the sound of Joan's heels in the doorway, "We have visual, sound coming shortly."

"Class place," Joan commented upon seeing the view from Barber's planted camera.

"Hey, buddy, what are you doing up there!" Eric looked down to see an older man staring up at him.

"Careful…" Auggie cautioned.

* * *

><p>"Miss Hearn, I wasn't expecting you until tomorrow," Henry said as he swung the massive mahogany door to his home open to allow his visitor to enter.<p>

"Always welcoming, Henry," Liza answered as she crossed the marble foyer and entered the luxurious living room.

Henry went to the small bar in the corner of the room and pulled a crystal glass off the shelf, "Can I get you something?" he asked pouring himself a glass of scotch.

"It's ten in the morning, Henry."

"Five o'clock somewhere…." Henry sat across from Liza on his leather chair. "So are we going to talk about why you're here, or are you just going to watch me have a cocktail?"

* * *

><p>"Did you hear me? What are you doing up there?" the old man yelled at Eric again.<p>

Eric began to carefully climb down the pole and found himself standing in front of the man, his full height becoming evident next to the shorter man. "Eric Bening. West Virginia Power and Light," he said pulling his officially forged badge from his front pocket. "We're just running a few tests on the transformers."

"Since when?" the old man questioned.

"My supervisor said that he informed everyone in the area last week that we'd be doing this."

"I didn't get no information."

"Jeez…" Eric said in an exaggerated tone, "They say they inform the customers and then the customers tell me that they don't. I'm so sorry. Want me to get him on the phone for you?"

"No. You just give me the number. I'll find out for myself." It was apparent to Barber that the older man wasn't going to stand down.

Eric took out a pen and an official looking notepad and jotted a number on it for him, ripping it off the pad with a flourish. "Here you go."

The older man yanked the paper from Barber's hand and stormed away.

"Call coming your way Auggie…." Eric said as he began to climb the pole again.

"Better get that mic set up and get out of there," Auggie told him.

* * *

><p>Peter Turley stood at the bar and watched his newest waitress get instructions from Gloria, his lead waitress. He still wasn't sure why or how the beautiful woman wandered into his bar in the middle of the West Virginia countryside, but he knew that once the regulars got a look at her, they would be back again and again.<p>

"Petey, you need to start workin' here."

"Huh?" Peter looked away from the waitresses to find a customer sitting at the bar in front of him.

"Who is that?"

"Who?"

"Pretty chick with Gloria."

"Oh, that's Annie. She's replacing Allie," Pete answered, placing a bottle of beer on the worn Miller Lite coaster on the bar.

"Looks like an upgrade to me."

"Yep."

"Just hope that she's better at waitressing than Allie."

* * *

><p>"Well, I'm waiting…." Henry said exaggerating the word first word of his sentence.<p>

"How many people do you still have on the inside at Langley?" Liza began with a leading question.

"I have many friends that still work at Langley," Henry replied, . "Where are you going with this?" He took a long drink of his scotch, while eyeing the reporter across from him skeptically.

"You worked there for several decades, I'm sure you have friends. But how many people do you have on the inside?"

"You mean on my side?"

"I suppose you could mean that," Liza was playing a high stakes game of chess with the former Director of Clandestine Services sitting across from her and the current one feeding her information. Playing games with sources was tricky; with spies it could be dangerous.

"There are several people that feel that I was 'retired' before my time. But that may change." Henry narrowed his eyes, "Why do you ask?"

"Because, I have a source, a reliable source, that just informed me that a high ranking official within the CIA has been arrested for attempting to sabotage operations. Could that be anyone you know?"

Henry sat back in the supple leather of the chair and thought about Liza's question for a moment. His mind was whirling with various scenarios. He couldn't be that stupid? Or could he?

Liza watched his face with amusement, "I take it you might know who this official is."

"Stupid son-of-a-bitch," Henry mumbled.

* * *

><p>"Jai, got a minute?" Joan called to the younger Wilcox as he passed by her office.<p>

"Just heading back to Hoover," Jai answered as he stepped inside her office, "I'm sure Rosabi will be happy not to see me too early in the morning."

Joan motioned to him to close the door and he did so before crossing her office and sitting in front of her.

"Auggie has Barber and Stu tied up and I don't trust just anyone with this," Joan began.

"Trust…"

"Baby steps," Joan said cautiously, "Roger Dunbar just sent this over, " She handed Jai a file folder, "It's the tentative schedule for the President."

"Busy guy," Jai observed as he glanced at the information in the file and closed it.

"See if you can find any opportunities that our friends might use to their advantage. We're on to them, but if we don't figure out where they're going to strike, all our efforts thus far are useless."

"I'll get right on it," Jai said standing up.

"What about Rosabi?"

"He can wait."

"Jai, I told you to be nice," Joan said with a wry smile.

"What? This is me; being nice. I'm just going to be late."

* * *

><p>Annie plopped down on the sticky vinyl chair outside the back door of the Dixie Pig and kicked off her heels. She was used to Christian Louboutins, but these heels from Sears were hurting her feet. She made a mental note to herself that spending the money on expensive shoes really was worth it. The squeak and then the slam of the rusty metal screened door to the kitchen moved her thoughts from her hurting feet to the important operation that brought her here.<p>

"You really outa get some more comfortable shoes," a very large man in a grease covered white t-shirt with suspenders holding up his jeans informed her.

Annie's eyes were level with his stomach and then she looked up at him, "I don't think we've met; I'm Annie," she said standing up; their height difference more apparent by her lack of shoes.

"Tom," he answered while lighting a cigarette, "I've got some empty beer bottles in the freezer, you should roll those under your feet. Girls say it makes them feel better."

"Okay, thanks for the tip," Annie sat back on the chair and gingerly began to put her shoes back on. "Everyone here is so nice."

"Yeah, that's what you think today," Tom let out a laugh, "Allie only lasted two weeks, I won that bet."

Annie realized that there was a wager going on as to how long she would last at the bar, "Really?"

"I'm givin' you three weeks, a month tops."

"You're gonna lose that bet," Annie answered with a cocky smile as she pulled the door open.

"Never do…"

* * *

><p>Arthur looked at the ringing cell phone sitting on his desk, the vibrate feature making an interesting echo-like sound as it bounced across the polished wood of his desk. He couldn't help but smile as he dialed his own cell phone.<p>

"She still there?"

"Just left a minute ago," Ben answered from his location down the road from Henry's riverside home.

"He didn't waste any time calling," Arthur said and laughed, "I bet she didn't even hit the main road before he was on the phone."

"Good thing you confiscated Davis's personal cell."

"This is going to get interesting, stay on her."

* * *

><p><em>Thanks for reading.<em>

_-M_


	15. Chapter 15

_Note: Thanks to everyone for being patient with this story, I know it's taken me forever to complete it, but life and lack of inspiration sometimes gets in the way. Hopefully I will be able to complete this one soon. _

_A big thank you to PatriciaLouise for her corrections and suggestions. _

* * *

><p>Annie turned off the shower, pulled open the thin shower curtain and grabbed a skimpy towel that was white at one time from the towel rack. She wrapped it around her hair and pulled a second towel from the rack and wrapped it around her body. As she padded across the worn carpet to the bed she thought to herself that a hostel in Eastern Europe was more luxurious than a fleabag motel in rural West Virginia. She sat on the edge and began to examine the blisters on her toes. Heels from Sears were not recommended footwear for waitresses. Her encrypted phone sitting on the nightstand chirped, she picked it up and smiled as she answered it.<p>

"Good morning, sunshine," the way too cheerful voice of Auggie greeted her.

"Morning," Annie answered as she lay back on the bed.

"How was your first day at work?"

"I wasn't shot at or nearly killed by a Russian assassin, so I can't complain."

"True, have you unpacked all the way yet?" Auggie asked mysteriously.

"Here? No," Annie said looking around the room, "this place is…"

"Got it. Check the front pocket of your suitcase."

Annie stood up and walked to her suitcase sitting on the luggage rack that was standing upright because of a generous application of duct tape. "What did you do?" She asked as she unzipped the front pocket.

"A present for you."

Annie reached inside the pocket and pulled a pair of sparkly hoop earrings and a small necklace with a gold cross on it. "Jewelry, really Auggie? I didn't think we were there yet in our relationship." A wide grin crossed her face; she enjoyed picking on Auggie.

"I thought you deserved it," Auggie enjoyed the banter too, . "They're extra special just for you. Cameras replaced some of the high quality cubic zirconia in the earrings and the necklace has a microphone in it."

Annie examined the jewelry as she sat back on the bed, "No kidding? You can't even tell. But a cross? Are you sure we won't go to hell for putting a microphone in a cross?"

"Hey, redneck anarchists are god-fearing people too," Auggie said and laughed.

"True, but…." Annie rubbed her blistered feet and groaned a little.

"What was that?"

"Blisters on my feet, cheap heels are no substitute for Christian Louboutins."

"You served in heels?"

"You said Daisy Duke," Annie protested.

"Figuratively."

"Wearing wedges today."

"Wedges?"

"Girl stuff; gotta get ready for work."

"Have fun today, catch the bad guys."

"For you, Auggie, I will."

* * *

><p>Joan tightened the waist of her robe and stepped out onto the balcony of her condo, the crisp fall air felt good against her cheeks and it helped cool the coffee in her mug. As she leaned on the railing and took a sip of the coffee, she watched Arthur at the newsstand across the street. He said he wanted the New York Times and he would be right back, but judging by his body language, he was waiting for someone. She wondered momentarily who it was, and a short time later, that question was answered. Ben Mercer. She would know that walk anywhere. What was Arthur doing talking to Ben Mercer? Whatever it was, it couldn't be good.<p>

* * *

><p>Arthur perused the latest copy of Sports Illustrated at the newsstand across the street from his condo in Georgetown while watching for pedestrians out of the corner of his eye. He was waiting for a specific pedestrian to head his way.<p>

"The Yankees are going to win it all," Arthur jumped a bit at the voice that came from behind him.

"Good thing I didn't have my gun," Arthur said turning around.

"Can't carry one on U.S. soil," Ben responded, grinning, "She was up all night on her laptop, thought I was sleeping."

"Wonder whose version she's going to publish?"

"If she's smart she'll pick yours," Ben picked up a copy of People Magazine and began to flip through it.

"I wouldn't count on it, I don't understand his draw, but he has one."

"Did you get into his phone?"

"Got someone on it,"Arthur put the magazine back in the rack, "Talk soon," he said and walked across the street.

* * *

><p>"It's way too early in the morning for you," Vincent Rossabi said as he leaned back in his chair and watched Jai take a seat across from him.<p>

"Morning to you too, Vince."

Rossabi bristled a little at the nickname that he hated, "So?"

"So, I have a couple of locations for your people to check out," Jai tossed a single piece of paper onto the messy piles of files on Rossabi's desk.

"You think one of these may be the strike?" Rossabi asked reading the memo and raising his eyebrow.

"At this point it could be anywhere that's not the White House, but yeah, I think these three have possibilities."

"A factory in Wisconsin? Fundraiser at a ritzy hotel in Dallas? Or a farm expo in Missouri?"

"All have merit for different reasons," Jai said leaning back in the chair.

"I'd toss the Dallas location, hotels are too easy to secure, plus these guys are rednecks right, they won't fit in," Rossabi surmised.

"That's precisely why I have that one on there; no one would suspect that location."

"All the angles…."

"It's my job," Jai said smugly.

"It's mine too, in case you have forgotten," Rossabi said staring at Jai.

* * *

><p>Arthur opened the door to the condo sans the newspaper he supposedly went to get and was met by the fire-filled blue eyes of his wife.<p>

"Where's the paper Arthur?"

"They were out," Arthur lied.

"You expect me to believe that? You lie for a living," Joan turned and walked toward the kitchen, " I saw him."

"Saw who?"

"Why are you working with Ben Mercer again? He's trouble anywhere he goes. You know that."

Arthur realized that he was busted, "I need him right now; I need him to help me get to the bottom of the Davis problem."

"Davis is in custody, why do you still need Mercer?"

"It goes much deeper than that, trust me," Arthur said planting a kiss on Joan's cheek. "I have to go, I have a meeting that I can't miss this morning."

* * *

><p>"Day two," Annie announced as she walked into the kitchen of the Dixie Pig.<p>

"Day two?" Tom looked up at her from the greasy flat top grill filled with bacon.

"Five more days and you've lost that bet."

"What makes you think that it's going to take five days?"

"I know these things," Annie answered while clipping an order on the order wheel, "Order up." She turned on her wedge heel and headed out the door, making sure to give Tom a show that he would remember.

* * *

><p>"Does Annie have the jewelry?" Joan asked Auggie as she stood next to his desk in Tech Ops.<p>

"She does, we'll have eyes and ears inside," Auggie answered spinning his chair in her direction.

"E-mails?"

"Still can't get into Yatzi's account, but he's been busy e-mailing Slayer and Big Bad Wolf." Auggie reached over to the ink printer and ran his fingers across the raised letters before handing the printouts to Joan. "Seems Yatzi is getting pretty impatient."

Joan scanned the information and crossed her arms, letting the printed pages hang out on one side; she flipped the pages in her arms while she was thinking. "Jai's meeting with Rossabi about the possible locations this morning and Arthur is up at the White House; keep an eye on Yatzi." Joan turned toward Stu, "And Stu, keep trying to get in to that e-mail account. This is going to move along pretty fast pretty soon."

* * *

><p>"Good morning Marjorie," Arthur Campbell greeted the Executive Assistant to the President of the United States outside the Oval Office.<p>

"Good morning, Mr. Campbell," Marjorie answered while standing up, "Mr. Dunbar is already inside with the President and Mr. Wilson just cleared security. Would you like some coffee?" she asked while opening the door to the Oval Office.

"Not right now, but thank you," Arthur answered while he crossed the threshold and entered the office.

* * *

><p>Charles "Chip" Langston strolled down the cavernous halls of the West Wing of the White House thinking to himself that John Nance Gardner was right; the Vice-Presidency wasn't worth a bucket of warm piss. He had little to no influence on any policy that came out of the White House and now he was just weeks away from announcing his own candidacy for President. He'd been trying to get a meeting with his boss for nearly two weeks. That witch of an assistant Marjorie thwarted him every time, today he was going arrive unannounced hoping that it might be his ticket inside the Oval. Chip stopped in his tracks when he heard his name called from down the hallway; he turned to see who was calling him.<p>

"Dick Wilson," Chip extended his hand to the Director of the FBI, "What brings you to our neck of the woods?"

"Meeting, otherwise I never leave the comfy confines of J. Edgar Hoover," Dick said falling in step with the Vice President.

"Comfy…" Chip said and laughed.

"Sure ain't the West Wing…"

Chip wrinkled his brow when he realized that Dick was heading the same direction that he was, to the Oval Office. "You meeting with the President?"

"Yep. Morning Marjorie." Dick answered as they rounded the corner to the outer office.

Marjorie sprang to her feet, "Good, they're waiting for you." She opened the door just enough for Dick to pass by and for Chip to see the President, Roger Dunbar and Arthur Campbell inside. She quickly closed the door after the final attendee entered the room.

"What's that about?" Chip asked as Marjorie sat back at her desk.

"You know I can't tell you that," Marjorie answered without looking up. "He has a free fifteen minutes this afternoon, do you want to make an appointment?"

Chip drew air into his lungs and held it for a minute, as irritated as he was that he wasn't invited to the meeting inside the Oval Office, this was the furthest he'd gotten with Marjorie in several days. "Sure." he said with a sigh.

* * *

><p>"Another round of beers over here sweetheart," a dark haired man with tattoos covering his arms sitting at a high top table next to the pool table called to Annie from across the bar.<p>

"Be there in a minute," Annie responded and went back to the order she was filling from the waitress station, "Is he always that impatient?" Annie asked Gloria who had just joined her at the bar.

"Who? Buff?" Gloria looked over her shoulder at the table filled with men, "He's a regular. He's harmless unless you take away his beer."

"Sounds charming."

"In case you haven't noticed, they're all charming here darling," Gloria patted Annie on the arm and took the order the Petey just placed on the bar.

* * *

><p>Jai pulled a desk chair across the Tech Ops office and sat in it backwards next to Auggie's desk. "Rossabi doesn't think the hotel in Dallas is a possible. Think of how many assassinations there have been in hotels. RFK ring any bells?"<p>

Auggie raised an eyebrow and took off his headphones, "I see where you're going Jai, but…"

"Don't tell me that you agree with him."

"It's not that I agree, it's that I don't disagree. What are the other two again?"

"Factory in Wisconsin and Farm Expo in Missouri, I was also thinking that the speech at the Boys and Girls Club in Phoenix might be another one," Jai rattled off the locations.

Auggie pushed his chair away from the desk and stretched his arms over his head. "Factory in Wisconsin."

"Really, oh wise one? What makes you think that?" Jai asked somewhat irritated.

"Chip Langston is from Wisconsin," Joan answered from the doorway for Auggie.

"Exactly," Auggie said and smirked in Jai's direction.

"Well Jai, what are you waiting for, go tell Rossabi," Joan ordered gently but firmly.

"But…" Jai protested.

"The other ones aren't out, but have Rossabi's team concentrate on this one, for now. Good job Auggie." Joan said.

Jai stood up and glared at Auggie for a moment before heading out the door of Tech Ops.

* * *

><p><em>Thanks for reading. <em>

_-M_


	16. Chapter 16

_I really didn't think I'd get this up until early in the week, but PatriciaLouise worked her magic in record time. As always, thank you! _

* * *

><p>"Remember Annie said that her section was the one farthest away from the door," Auggie told Stu as they walked into the dark world that was the Dixie Pig.<p>

"I know," Stu said under his breath, "Are you sure we can pull this off?"

"I can pull this off; you just need to follow my lead. Don't forget your cover and we'll be fine."

"How can I forget, I think you did this just so Barber and the gang can pick on me later."

"Me? I wouldn't do that," Auggie mocked as Stu guided his hand to the back of a chair. The two agents sat down at the small table at the back of the room, Stu made sure his back was to the wall so he could see everything in the bar, just like Auggie told him to, "What do you see?"

Stu slid his chair in and surveyed the room, "One bartender, the same one as before. Annie and another waitress, about a dozen bar flies, mostly men and a few trashy looking women."

"Good. Anything else?"

"You're the trained field agent, not me. I'm doing what I can…"

Auggie sighed, Stu was right; he was doing the best that he could.

"Hello boys," A loud voice came from above them. Stu hadn't noticed that Petey had come from behind the bar to their table. "We don't often get strangers in here twice."

"Isn't that how a frequent customer is born?" Auggie asked and smirked.

"Not around here," Petey half growled as the hair went up on the back of Stu's neck.

* * *

><p>Vincent Rossabi looked around the Gulf Stream G200 as it made its final approach into Dane County Regional Airport and realized that the CIA certainly knew how to travel in style. He'd been aboard Dick Wilson's plane once and only once and it was nothing like this aircraft. "So <em>Jay<em>, is this how all you spies travel?"

Jai glanced at his companion and sat quietly for a moment contemplating his reply to such a remark, "No we usually fly commercial, just like you."

"Really, you don't seem like the coach type."

Jai was about to respond to the latest snark when his cell phone rang, "Hi, we just got here."

"Another unnamed spook, great," Rossabi said under his breath as he flipped the buckle on his seatbelt.

* * *

><p>Liza Hearn stepped out onto the busy Washington D.C. street while checking her bag to make sure that she brought everything that she would need with her. Looking up, she nearly ran into one of her co-workers.<p>

"Great story, Liza." The co-worker greeted her.

"Thanks," Liza said with a smile, it was a great story, maybe one of the best she had ever written outside of the career-making story about Henry Wilcox she'd written a few months ago. Love him or hate him, Henry was good for her career. Her cell phone rang and she punched the screen to answer it.

"You left before I woke up this morning," Ben said sleepily into the phone.

Liza smiled at sound of her new boyfriend's voice, "I know, I had some work to do before deadline this morning. Did you miss me?"

"I always miss you when the bed is empty, when are you returning to make me less lonely?" Ben teased.

"Want to meet me for dinner? Kincaid's?"

"Sure, what time?"

"I have to go to court to cover a story. I might be late, eight o'clock?"

"See you there."

* * *

><p>"Listen, we're not here to cause any trouble, we're just passing through town on our way back from a job," Auggie said standing up, "If our money isn't good here, we'll just move on, right Stu?"<p>

Stu stood up following Auggie's lead.

"Sit down," Petey pushed Stu back in his chair and Stu grabbed Auggie's hand indicating that he should sit back down too. "You look like you're ten years old, do you have any ID?"

Stu pulled an old, worn wallet from his back pocket and presented a Virginia driver's license to the bartender. "I'm 23, thank you."

Petey grabbed the license from Stu's outstretched hand, "Heath Stuart, what kind of name is Heath? That sounds like a candy bar."

"It is. My mom went into labor at Kmart when she was getting her chocolate fix." With that explanation, Auggie stifled a laugh, Stu really could think on his feet.

"You're over 21, I can tell that," Petey directed his attention to Auggie.

"If you're looking for a driver's license from me, you're not going to get one. They took it away from me after I got back from Iraq," Auggie waved his hand in front of his eyes for dramatic effect and then extended his hand in the direction of Petey's voice, "Andy Augustine. Now that we're properly introduced, what are our chances of getting a few beers?"

"Annie," Petey called to his waitress across the bar, "First round is on me."

* * *

><p>"Rossabi has a car waiting for us, I'll call you when we get to the site," Jai told Arthur as he stepped off the plane onto the tarmac and walked toward the waiting black Suburban.<p>

"Roger Duncan just gave me a revised itinerary," Arthur advised, "The guest list just got larger; we have Chip Langston joining him…"

"No surprise there."

"Bert Barry and Lila Ferguson."

"I understand Barry, but Lila? What the hell does a Kansas senator want with a feel good stop in Wisconsin?"

"Good question," Arthur said thoughtfully. "Judging by this new information, we may have our winner. Make sure the FBI covers all the bases."

"Will do, thanks," Jai ended the call and opened the back door to the SUV and sat next to Rossabi.

"Daddy checking up on you?" Rossabi mocked.

A tingle of irritation went down Jai's spine; Rossabi couldn't possibly know that he was Henry Wilcox's son. "Just my boss. Have you heard from yours?"

"No, my daddy trusts me to play nice and do my job."

"Got an update, Langston, Bert Barry and Lila Ferguson will be at the event too," Jai shared the latest information.

"Really?"

"My daddy doesn't lie to me," Jai said with a smirk, hoping that by 'daddy' Rossabi meant his boss and not his actual father.

"Neither does mine."

* * *

><p>Joan walked through the heavy glass doors of the executive office and nodded at Arthur's assistant Julie. "Is he available?" she asked.<p>

"As far as I know," Julie said and smiled at her boss's wife, she liked Joan. She liked Joan's no nonsense approach to her life and her work. The wives of most CIA directors were a pain, but not Joan.

"Thanks," Joan said with a smile and entered Arthur's office. "Auggie and Stu are in place," she said as she set a cup of coffee on Arthur's desk.

Arthur swung his chair around and set his cell phone down and grabbed the cup of hot liquid, he took a deep breath of the heady aroma before taking a drink.

"Long day? It's only noon." Joan sat on the edge of his desk.

"I think we're getting closer," Arthur handed a piece of paper to his wife; "Roger Dunbar had this sent over."

Joan took the paper from her husband and read it, "Does Jai know?"

"Just got off the phone with him, he's in Madison. I can only hope that he and Rossabi don't kill each other before this trip is done."

* * *

><p>"You don't like them, do you?" Annie asked Petey as he set the beer bottles on her tray.<p>

"I'm not sure what to think right now," Petey admitted, "They seem nice and all…"

"But?"

"See if you can find out why they keep stopping by."

Annie winked at her boss and nodded understandingly and headed to toward the table where Auggie and Stu were sitting.

"Here you go boys," Annie announced as she set a couple of bottles of beer in front of Auggie and Stu. She made sure to make a little extra noise as she set the bottle in front of Auggie so he would know where it was, "One the house, just like Petey said."

"Thanks," Stu said trying not to make too much eye contact with Annie, he was afraid that he might give away that they knew each other. Fieldwork was harder than he thought.

Auggie reached across the table and found the bottle beer, thinking that he should thank Annie later for that little bit of extra help. "So what's a pretty girl doing in a place like this?" he asked taking a drink of beer.

"I should ask you the same thing."

"We're not pretty, are we Stu?"

"We've got a job up in Harrisburg, just stopped for something to eat before heading home," Stu answered with his part of the cover story.

"So you need menus," Annie looked toward Petey and smiled, "What kind of job?"

"We're consultants," Auggie answered vaguely.

"Consultants? You don't look like consultants."

"Not supposed to, we don't exactly work in the corporate world if you know what I mean," Auggie continued still not sharing the whole story with Annie. She had no idea what their cover story was and that was a good thing.

"Sweetie, how about some service over here?" Another customer called from an adjoining table.

"I'll check back with you in a bit," Annie said and went to help the other customer.

* * *

><p>The Federal Courthouse in Washington DC was an imposing building; Liza figured that they did that on purpose, just like every other Federal building in the city. They didn't want you to forget that the government was all-powerful. She climbed the steps and entered the area for the security clearance. Pulling out her press pass, she set her bag on the belt so it could pass through the scanner.<p>

"Afternoon, Miss Hearn," one of the security guards said as she passed through the metal detector, "Read your story on morning break."

"Did you like it?" Liza asked with a smile.

"I did, but I know someone else probably didn't."

"Can't be friends with everyone all the time," Liza took her bag from the belt and clipped her press pass on her suit jacket. "Thanks," she said before heading down the hallway to Courtroom 1A.

-xx—

The former auto assembly plant in Janesville, Wisconsin looked like time had stopped when they ceased making cars three years ago. Jai couldn't imagine why the President, Vice President and two senators would want to make a policy speech here of all places. He looked around the perimeter of the factory, thinking that the Secret Service was not going to like this place. Trees, hills and several adjoining businesses would make it a security nightmare.

"What does your spook brain think about this place?" Rossabi asked Jai, pulling him from his thoughts.

"Glad I'm not Dunbar's people," Jai said thoughtfully, "What do you think?"

"I think this is a load of bull, we should be in St. Louis checking out that expo or maybe even Dallas."

"I thought you thought Dallas was out?"

"I did until I saw this place," Rossabi said impatiently, "Come on."

"Wait, we're not done. Look around, this could be it," Jai turned on his heels, getting a 360 perspective on the factory, "The guest list alone makes this a viable target." Jai headed toward the entrance of the factory.

"Fine." Rossabi sighed and followed him.

* * *

><p>"Said they were consultants, working a job up in Harrisburg," Annie told Petey as she stood at the waitress station, "That's all I got before I got called away."<p>

"Consultants, huh?" Petey said thoughtfully as he watched Stu work on his tablet computer, taking direction from Auggie, "Keep asking."

* * *

><p>Liza took her seat in the back of the courtroom and took out her notebook, preparing for the proceedings that were about to begin. She felt a whoosh of air from behind her and looked over her shoulder to see Henry and his attorney entering the courtroom. She tried not to make eye contact with Henry as he walked to the front of the courtroom, but she could feel his glare poking a hole through her consciousness. She hoped that her high stakes game of chess didn't bite her in the ass.<p>

* * *

><p>"Menus for you," Annie said as she set a menu in front of Stu and Auggie. Stu reached for his menu, but Auggie did not, "I'll be back in a few for your order." Annie began to leave.<p>

"Annie, is it?" Auggie asked.

Annie turned around, "Yes?"

"You don't happen to have a Braille menu do you?"

"I didn't realize…." Annie stammered for extra effect, "I..I don't know, I'm new here…lemme ask."

"And another round…" Stu added as Annie walked away from them.

* * *

><p>"What happens if you're wrong?" Rossabi asked Jai as they surveyed the factory floor, "I know my ass will be in a sling."<p>

"Our asses won't be the only thing in a sling," Jai said thoughtfully, "I see a few possible locations," Jai looked around, "Up there," he pointed, "and there."

"Yeah." Rossabi sighed. "Shouldn't we just let the Secret Service do their thing and follow up from there?"

"We could, but that would be too easy." Jai was distracted by something he saw out of the corner of his eye; he headed toward what caught his eye.

* * *

><p>"Sorry, no Braille menu," Annie announced when she returned to Auggie and Stu's table.<p>

"No problem, Stu helped me like always," Auggie said and smiled, "I'll have the bacon burger."

"Cheeseburger." Stu stated.

Annie scribbled on her notepad and took the menus from Stu's outstretched hand, "So what kind of consultants are you?"

"Security." "Computer." Auggie and Stu said simultaneously.

"So which is it?" Annie sounded amused.

"A little of both," Auggie answered, still not giving her the whole story.

* * *

><p>"What's that?" Rossabi asked as Jai pulled a small camera like apparatus from the top of a crate in the corner of the factory floor.<p>

"Not exactly sure." Jai followed the cords on the back of the item of interest.

"And how did you see that?" Rossabi asked, "Never mind, spy stuff…."

Jai continued to follow the cords and discovered that it wasn't attached to anything, yet. "I don't think this was left behind when the place closed. They're still working on it."

"I'll get someone in here to sit on the place…." Rossabi said pulling out his cell phone.

"And let Dunbar's people know that it's here and to leave it alone."

* * *

><p>Annie set a few empty beer bottles on the bar and waited for Petey to finish with his customer on the other end of the bar. After a few minutes, the bartender joined her by the waitress station.<p>

"So?" he asked.

"Still not sure, one says computer and the other says security consultants," Annie stated.

"The blind guy seems like the brains of the operation, keep talking to him."

"Why?"

"Because I like to know who my customers are," Petey said with finality as he turned toward the cash register, pulled some money out and handed it to Annie, "Here, this place is too quiet, put something on the jukebox, Elvis or something like that."

"Order up Annie!" Annie heard Tom call from the kitchen.

* * *

><p>The court proceeding was over and Liza hoped that she could slip out before Henry was able to catch her; she began to gather her things from the bench next to her and turned for the door. She was unsuccessful as that she was met by an angry looking former DCS.<p>

"Miss Hearn," he greeted her tersely.

"Mr. Wilcox."

"I'd like to have a word with you." Henry narrowed his eyes and looked down his nose at her.

"I don't recommend that, Henry," Henry's lawyer said from behind the two of them.

"It's okay, Harvey. We're old friends, aren't we Liza?" Henry grabbed Liza's forearm and squeezed it a bit too hard as he led her out the door.

* * *

><p>"What's going on?" Auggie asked Stu after Annie set their meals in front of them and moved off toward the ancient jukebox in the corner of the bar.<p>

Stu ruffled his brow, "Not really sure, Annie looked like she wanted to tell us something, but couldn't"

"What's she doing now?" Auggie said through a bite of burger.

"Standing by the jukebox," Stu answered, grabbed the ketchup and squirted it on his fries.

* * *

><p>Annie stood in front of the jukebox looking over the song selection; it looked like it hadn't been updated in at least thirty years. There were plenty of songs to choose from, but only two Elvis songs that Petey had requested. She saw the titles, laughed a little to herself and dropped the coins in the slot.<p>

* * *

><p>Suddenly the room was filled with an Elvis Presley song.<p>

"I think I know what she's trying to tell us…" Auggie smiled.

"What's that?"

"Listen to the song…"

"Huh?"

"They're suspicious of us. Suspicious Minds."

Stu looked at Auggie with disbelief; you really had to pay attention to everything when you're a field officer.

* * *

><p>Henry pulled Liza into a corner of the corridor of the courthouse, fire burning in his eyes. "I trusted you."<p>

"You're a spy Henry, you said to trust no one," Liza replied, at least there were a few security guards and assorted court personnel watching their exchange, she felt relativity safe.

"I read your story today, quite enlightening."

"I thought so too…"

"I will tell you this once and only once. You don't cross me without consequences. And by my count you've crossed me two times." Henry was seething, "This isn't over and when I have authority again…"

"Don't you mean if?"

"When I have authority again, I will make sure that the only thing that you can write in this town is an obituary."

"Is that a threat?" Liza asked.

"I don't make threats, my dear, I make promises. It won't be long now," Henry said backing away from her, "Better get your obit skills ready…."

* * *

><p><em>Thanks for reading. <em>

_-M_


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